How can the spread of fake news be curbed without curtailing the freedom of expression?

Fake News: The new cancer online

The term fake news is not a new phenomenon however the volume,  speed of spread, accessibility and dissemination are new.  In an era where 44 million Kenyans can access internet and anyone anywhere can send any information to anybody then internet has revolutionalize the spread of fake news. The recent election events drew attention pointing to an increase in the number of fake news making rounds on social media. Social media has given fake news an excellent breeding ground.

What's the motive of fake news

The two main motive for fake news is to: insert influence;

image source:pixabay

Heightening tension in the country during election, 

Distort election campaigns- fake news played tricks on Paul Otuoma in his bid for gubernatorial race in Kenya and to damage opponent’s reputation

Quick way to make money-bloggers are making millions through ads by creating fake contents which will generate huge traffic.

Propaganda and misinformation are the newest cancer online and there is a big challenge in dealing with them. When fake news is mentioned the events that took center stage after august 8 2017 elections up to the repeat elections in Kenya always comes to ones mind. It is during this period that fake news dominated our social media platforms. 

In a polarized country, biased news spread like bush fire so as to serve political interests . Kenya has a record of negative ethnicity, social media gives the youths a platform to air out their grievances about past injustices while fake news are spread aimed to propagate the hatred among tribes to serve political ends.

A fake new will make its way and reach half of the world while the truth is still deciding the shoe to wear. What does that tell us? Fake news spread very fast since its feeds population crave for information. There is therefore need to devise ways of curbing fake news without curtailing the very freedom of expression.

Ways to curb fake news without curtaling freedom of expression

Facts checking- stop, reflect and verify

Some of the websites looks suspicious for example some political pages (uhuru for us) attracts huge traffics but the individuals behind such accounts  are not known. Therefore information from such accounts should be handled with care. People are good at sending some fake news under the umbrella of sent as received message.  Before hitting on that button it is good to stop verify and reflect on the content so as not to be an agent of spreading of fake news.

Infohub enumerated various ways to spot fake news:

Being skeptical about the headlines. Misinformation mongers always use catchy headlines to spread  fake news. This will attracts many to click and read the story.

image source: fake-news

Confirm the date, Old stories are likely to pop up even when they are not relevant to the present events

Interrogate the source: Interrogating the websites which hosts that information. Many fake news website seems legit and very appealing to any casual observer, interrogating the website before sharing the content is therefore very important. Fake news websites have links very similar to those of credible websites or trusted sources. Another unique thing on fake news websites is that they are dominated by ads, more ads than content automatically indicating quick spams for money. It is therefore important to know how a fake link looks like so as to curb the spread of fake news.

Examine any supporting link or source attached to the article: Check whether the information that appears after clicking the link supports the article, any discrepancy indicate fake news.

image source: propaganda

Check for your personal biases: Any information skewed  towards a certain sides and satisfying ones beliefs can influences ones judgment. Hate speech and tribal statements can be readily accepted as true by tribalists.

Check the author, do a quick background check of the author, find out if he is credible.

Check for grammatical errors- reputable organizations hardly make spelling and grammatical errors. A fake aljaazeeranews-tv.com contained many grammatical errors.  

Use tools such as google reverse image search to fact check photos used in the news and check by meedan to verify breaking news stories.  Such innovations will help identify the original source of the image. Reverse image search helps in verifying the authenticity of a photo used in the story. 

A good example is where a photo of Nyali MP Mohammed Ali was doing round being accused of defying orders from his party leader and went ahead to vote on august 26th 2018. google reverse image tool detected that the photo was taken on august 8th election.

Creating awareness about fake news on social media. Awareness on proliferation of fake news on social media needs to be created and people to wait for authoritative validation of news from more credible source. Young people need to be informed of the possibility of coming across fake news.

Media literacy- Digital literacy and enhancing  skills that could help them spot fake news can help combat fake news. Information literacy skills will ensure that readers of fake news will not readily accept the news as given but they will interrogate the content.

Reduce the incentives for creating fake news-fake news are not created for political influence but for profits. Restricting advertisements on fake news will kill the motive behing creating such news. Makers of fake news sites take advantage of non attentive consumers of fake information and create content that will enable them make huge amount of money from Google and facebook. 

In conclusion, fake news are not motivated by the infuence they insert on human emotions rather by money. Fake news spread very fast and media literacy is key in ensuring social media users are able to detect fake news on the onset and stop further spread. 

How blogging can help protect the rights of Kenyans

Human rights are the fundamental rights that all human beings enjoy independence of their race ethnicity, sex, religion, color, residence or any other social status.  They can neither be earned nor taken away but they can be violated by individuals, nations or governments. 

It feels awful when you are in a Matatu and a police officer is bribed with Kshs. 50 to overlook traffic offences at the expense of your safety. One feels like you have been violated. Such violation happens everyday but many are not aware of their rights in such instances.

Why blogging is key in protecting human rights

Blogging provides a platform to publish ones feeling, thoughts and ideas with other like minded people. Blogs are the easiest way to publish content by anyone from anywhere at anytime and has a wider reach. Bloggers create 90% of the local content. Images and videos in blogs increases authenticity to the information posted. 94 % of the people share blog posts ensuring wide spread of information.

Over 43 million Kenyans uses internet and a significant number access information published on blogs. Blogging community is increasing at an alarming rates hence a great catalyst for social change.

Writing for human rights
Blogging can create awareness, expose violations and attracts attention to areas in need of interventions forcing those in power to act. Therefore, blogging uphold human rights in the following ways: 

Blogging and right to freedom of expression. Blogging provides a good opportunity for people to publish their opinions and exercise fully their freedom of expression. Although the various acts and laws stipulate ways of protecting human rights, bloggers have an affirmative duty and stronger voice to protect and promote human rights in exercising their freedom of expression. Bloggers help in closing the information gap that had been widening before the advent of internet. Misusing freedom of expression amounts to hate speech.

Reporting hate speech

image source: pixabay.com

More often than not, politicians have made reckless statement amounting to hate speech and incitement to violence. Such acts have been brought to book and necessary action taken. Violence leads to damaging peoples property and killing people violating right to property and life. Thanks to bloggers and the revolutionary social media platforms. If it were not for the strong voice of bloggers such damaging sentiments would go unnoticed and unpunished.

Tasking governments to take action in the event of violation of human rights. Blogging can bring change by putting governments on notice against human rights violation. Although blogs can't change laws, they generate awareness, a critical step in protecting the rights of individual. A blog with a huge traffic can be an efficient and very effective platform for people to freely express opinions and keep human rights issues at the forefront of the national dialogue. This has always helped in demanding action from responsible authorities. Creating awareness to situations that need to be condemned will make Government and the public to become more informed, educated and involved.

Women are oftenly harassed and making them more aware of their rights at early age is a milestone in protecting them.

image source: https://www.dw.com

Curbing harassment against women, several cases of domestic violence have been brought to the limelight by bloggers and the violators punished. Some companies alleged to protects their staff accused of being involved in sexual harassment have faced the wrath from the public after being exposed by bloggers. A case in point where ushahidi reportedly condoned gender discrimination and violence in Kenya by protecting its ill-behaved employees. The most viral #mydressmychoice led to the arrest of the rogue conductors who harassed a lady for wearing a miniskirt. 

Protecting public property. Public lands are very vulnerable to grabbing and government agencies  remains mum on the issue.  A blogger dubbed shule yangu alliance prevented the grabbing of the langata primary school land . Bloggers have a duty in protecting the properties of the voiceless. This is so vital because it increases public awareness and provokes action that will ensure better protection of the human rights.

Mobilizing people to advocate for their rights. There is  a thin line between blogging and activism and recently both have been used to protect the  rights of Kenyans. Peaceful demonstrations to curb a certain vice are organized by bloggers and activists. For example demos putting Kenyan police on notice for using excessive force and for extra judicial killings as reported by human rights watch blog were organised by bloggers.

Blogging play a vital role in protecting against environmental disaster. Enjoyment of human rights and sustainable environment are closely linked. Blogging can help launch a campaign against pollution, environmental damage and alert people of the looming disaster. An environment free from violence, pollution and natural disaster enhances enjoyment of basic human rights. Many times bloggers have reported on droughts, heavy rains, earth quakes etc.  Blog posts will provide early warning signs for a looming disaster, rapid response which results from such information reduces the harmful effect of a disaster. 

Various images and videos from blogs will bring out the right picture on the extent of damage and will help the government and stakeholders to gauge the amount of  intervention needed.

image from the star.co.ke 

The environmental blogs such as Wangechi Kiongo-sync with nature are platforms offering great ways to create awareness on sustainable environment.

Blogs provides an avenue for education.

Bloggers share knowledge in their areas of expertise. Blogs have proliferated with 'How-to' do this and that making readers more educated and informed. 

Reducing corruption and increasing transparency. Bloggers exposes corruption and can influence electing leaders with integrity.  Human rights violation mostly occurs where there is corruption. Blogger Abraham Mutai exposed rampant corruption in Isiolo county. Though he was arrested the public attention was attracted towards the vice and public resources were protected. 

Protecting human rights in the supply chain- Bloggers will create awareness on the consumption of harmful products.  Blogging greatly support marketing of helpful products which makes life more enjoyable. Reporting employees exploitation at the workplace can enhance protection of their rights. 

Conclusively, Kenyan blogging community can greatly contribute to upholding human rights. BLOGGERS  have a moral duty in making the public aware of their rights, reporting on violation and pushing for action hence enhancing enjoyment of the fundamental human rights. The role of bloggers in protecting human rights is very risky where many have been arrested, received death threats and others ultimately lost lives.