Friends, Here is my take on the above, some of which may have been expressed by others. a) Why is there an increase in the prevalence of Fake News recently? - Propaganda has been with mankind since time immemorial; it is not new. Fake news is not new. For example, it is said that in the days of apartheid in South Africa, the white supremacist regime routinely planted stories in print newspapers that passed as the "truth". The challenges of recognizing what was fake then were harder as the world was less interconnected than it is today, let alone the cost of associated communication. - Also, lies travel much faster than the truth as captured by such quotes as (i) a lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes." - Charles Spurgeon; or (ii) "Falsehood flies, and the truth comes limping after it." - Jonathan Swift - In my view what the Internet has done is to aggravate the situation due to the speed at which information (fake and otherwise) travels in a "borderless" world. The proliferation of social media and seamless manner in which messages flow back and forth across platforms (Facebook, twitter, Instagram, etc.) only exacerbates the situation, making the situation worse. - On the other hand, many organizations/agencies/parties/individuals aren't prepared for the rapid response that would counter such lies. The amount of resources and associated expertise that would go with such preparedness is something that many organizations/agencies/parties/individuals are coming to terms with. In the last elections, it is said (I can't confirm this) that some entities (parties, candidates, etc.) hired teams of bloggers to generate fake news as part of the propaganda campaign, a key component of their election strategy. b) What is the role of different categories of users in combating Fake News? - Awareness and Response with healthy skepticism: o Individuals and organisations need to be aware of existence of fake news. As such awareness is a first step. They must learn to treat everything with skepticism and with an attitude of "trust but verify". In this respect Facebook has done a great on how to recognize fake news. o Individuals and organizations should hesitate to forward/share/proliferate anything that appears suspect. In many respects, some forward such material based on how it resonates/echoes with their inner tendencies. Thus NASA supporters may be more inclined to share (widely) that which appears to be inimical to Jubilee and vice versa. o In the same vein, such individuals and organizations should openly express reservations regarding such content and reasons thereof. That would also make others be more attentive to concerns raised. - When affected o Individuals and organizations that are subject of fake news should rapidly respond and put things right! . Fake news that remains unchallenged becomes the "truth". . - Future Preparedness o Individuals and organizations should be prepared to face fake news when it happens. In that respect, they need to put their ears to the ground, as it were, in readiness for anything untoward. - The Law o I haven't perused the most recent versions of cyber bill in Kenya to see whether it accommodates this aspect of criminal behaviour. As well, I am not sure how the penal code address such fake news in the analog world. The law needs to address. . btw in cyberspace the challenge is that of investigation to establish the actual culprits. c) Have Kenyans given up or are there good practices in combating? I am not aware of evidence to reach such a conclusion. However, my sense is that Kenyans appear overwhelmed and that those that get affected are not as prepared for response as would be desirable. Indeed, considering that many are confronting this for the first time leaves that confused as to how to effectively respond. d) Is Fake News a manifestation of deeper societal issues and if so, are there ways of combating it other than resolving the societal issues? - Freedom of expression of the kind we have today is unprecedented in history. The "democratization" of cyberspace (given the low entry costs) allows every Tom, Dick and Harry as much as access as anyone out there. It enables access and express for the ethical and unethical. The elite can have a voice as much as the lowliest of the low in society. - On the other hand, this unprecedented freedom of expression provides a good vent for pressures in society where many did not have such opportunities in the past. Our history in Kenya records repression of expression. My guess is that there is thin link to our historical past. (NB: it would be interesting to do a comparative study of the rate of occurrence of fake news in such societies as in the western world versus those like our own. It would be one way of establishing whether there is a link between the rate of occurrence of fake news and a society's past.) - The false sense of online anonymity exacerbates the situation. Studies on individuals' online behaviour unmask many aspects of human conduct that otherwise ordinary lives do not reveal. A good example is a person's search history! Fake news could be seen in such light! - The weak deterrent measures allow perpetrators to continue perpetuating such behaviour. The transnational nature of such transgressions, makes deterrence non-trivial! e) We have Bloggers who are seen as influencers. Do they have a higher duty when communicating? - Unlike professional journalists, bloggers have no enforceable code of ethics. However, they should be demonstrate ethical conduct. This is especially so for those seen to have substantial influence. . I doubt that mainstream media can get away with what some of such bloggers get away with. . the challenge is how to remedy this situation. We should explore how other jurisdictions are handling similar cases for any lessons on handling such cases. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Matunda Nyanchama, PhD, CISSP; Director & Managing Consultant, <mailto:mnyanchama@aganoconsulting.com> mnyanchama@aganoconsulting.com Agano Consulting Inc.; <http://www.aganoconsulting.com/> www.aganoconsulting.com; Twitter: <http://twitter.com/#%21/nmatunda> nmatunda; Skype: okiambe ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------- Manage your ICT risks! We are the experts you need! The trusted partners you deserve! Call: +254-20-267-0743 (Kenya) or info@aganoconsulting.com Licensed by Communications Authority of Kenya (CA)