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A campaign rally by Raila Odinga in Kiambu, Kenya
Photo: Brian Otieno / DER SPIEGEL
Manipulated front pages of newspapers, character assassination campaigns, calls for violence – some dangerous propaganda is circulating on the internet ahead of the elections in Kenya.
Many experts see this with great concern, because the trauma of 2007 is still deep.
At that time, after the presidential elections, there was unrest across the country, different ethnic groups suddenly attacked each other, in the end more than 1,000 people were dead and hundreds of thousands displaced.
Such a wave of violence has not been repeated in the past two elections, although there have been isolated riots.
The government is now taking tougher action against hate speech, and many politicians have become much more cautious.
Nevertheless, inciting videos and messages continue to spread, especially on the Internet.
Odanga Madung from the Mozilla Foundation has, among other things, examined the video platform TikTok for such content and has come across numerous videos with hate speech or disinformation.
Meanwhile, the platforms like TikTok have deleted some of this content.
SPIEGEL:
Mr. Madung, will social media decide this election?
Madung:
No, I don't think so.
They will definitely play a role, but not the all-important one.
In the end, it's still the people who go to the ballot box.
The internet is not yet widespread enough in Kenya, especially not in everyday life, to really be able to decide elections.
DER SPIEGEL:
Are the candidates still going digital?
Madung:
Data suggests that candidates are putting around €250,000 into digital campaigning this year.
The importance of digital platforms has increased because more and more people are moving around there and getting their information from there.
SPIEGEL:
In Kenya, there has been violence after elections in the past, also fueled by hate speech by politicians.
Among other things, you searched the TikTok video platform specifically for such hate speech – how much hate is there?
Madung:
What we found was definitely just the tip of the iceberg.
The real problem is the inability of the platforms to take action.
Something has to happen there.
They often fail to even track down hate speech.
They always promise: Yes, we will delete dangerous content.
But you can't even find this content, neither in English nor Kiswahili nor other local languages.
SPIEGEL:
How dangerous can that be, especially before the elections in Kenya?
Madung:
I don't think hate speech directly leads to violence.
Hardly anyone picks up a machete and slaughters someone.
The violence is mostly organized by gangs, not by ordinary civilians.
Nevertheless, such inciting content creates unnecessary tension.
But the real problem is different: the hate messages leave potential voters disillusioned and lead to electoral apathy.
While rampant voter fatigue isn't just about social media, it certainly plays a big part.
SPIEGEL:
Can you explain that?
Madung:
The people who look at it think: Why should I vote when apparently all the candidates are crap?
You hear that a lot this year from people who don't vote - they reject all candidates.
And the targeted disinformation on the Internet and in social media contributes to this, because it is intended to put the political opponent in the worst possible light.
These are partly targeted character assassination campaigns - which are becoming a serious threat to democracy.
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