This report investigates how social media platforms moderate Kiswahili content, focusing on Kenya and Tanzania due to their large Kiswahili-speaking populations and differing approaches to moderation.

Main findings:

The study reveals that Instagram and TikTok are the most popular platforms in the region, with concerns rising about misinformation and hate speech in the Kiswahili online sphere.

Three main approaches to Kiswahili content moderation were identified: a global approach (Meta) applying uniform policies, a local approach (TikTok) attempting cultural context consideration but limited by primarily Kenyan moderators, and a multi-country approach (JamiiForums) employing native moderators from each country for better contextual understanding.

Content moderation vendors often misrepresent the job's realities, failing to adequately prepare moderators for graphic content, leading to inconsistencies and inaccuracies in content evaluation.

The report highlights the challenges of moderating low-resource languages like Kiswahili, emphasizing the need for more inclusive and representative approaches that account for linguistic diversity and cultural nuances across different East African countries.