Kenya was among the most searched countries globally this week due to the widespread anti-Finance Bill protests occurring across all 47 counties.
An analysis by Kenyans.co.ke on Google Trends revealed significant international interest in the Gen Z protests, with many countries seeking information on the events.
The most searches came from Uganda, South Sudan, Haiti, Qatar, China, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America.
Notably, in addition to questions like "Who is Gen Z in Kenya?", personalities such as Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna and President William Ruto were among the top searched individuals.
Here is the breakdown per country:
Uganda
Citizens of the Pearl of Africa mostly sought real-time information on the protests. Some of the queries on Google included Kenya protests today and the current situation in Kenya.
Uganda also led in the countries whose citizens researched who Generation Z are. Questions asked in this respect included the meaning of Gen Z in Kenya.
Other top Google searches made from Uganda were on the Uganda House fire in Nairobi CBD and Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga.
Ugandans were also interested in reading about internet outages and shutdowns in Kenya.
South Sudan
In South Sudan, citizens were also interested in understanding who are Generation Z.
Notably, South Sudanese were also keen to Google political personalities in Kenya including Senator Edwin Sifuna, Deputy President of Kenya Rigathi Gachagua and President William Ruto.
Other information sought over Kenya was the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) and travel advisory issued on Kenya.
Haiti
In Haiti where Kenyan police officers are leading a multinational peace mission, the citizens sought information on the demonstration.
However, unlike most countries, Haitians were mostly keen to google about the languages spoken in Kenya and the Swahili tradition.
This can be attributed to the deployment done early in the week.
Qatar
In the Middle East, Qatar was among the countries that took a keen interest in the developments in Kenya.
For instance, the most searched topic in Qatar was the Parliament Mace which was alleged to have been stolen during the protests. The allegations have, however, been denied by Speaker Moses Wetangula who stated that a dummy mace was stolen instead.
Further, the Google searches done in Qatar were on the state of emergency, the National Intelligence Service (NIS) and the fire at Uganda House.
Some residents in Qatar also sought to know whether Kenya was a country.
China
In China, some of the top Google searches were on the protests, Parliament of Kenya and Ruto.
Additionally, people in China also sought information on Kenya's outstanding debt. Interestingly, China is one of the biggest lenders for Kenya.
United Kingdom
The term, state of emergency dominated Google searches done by people living in the United Kingdom. President William Ruto was also among the most searched personalities in the UK.
Owing to the security in Kenya, UK residents sought to get the latest information on the latest travel advisories issued in Kenya.
Notably, Auma Obama was also googled in the UK. This can be attributed to the teargassing incident captured during her interview with CNN journalist Larry Madowo.
US
Meanwhile, in the United States of America, the fire incident at Parliament Buildings gained traction among residents.
Those in the US also sought to get information on the state of emergency and President William Ruto.
Interestingly, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), accused of being behind the recent taxation policies, made it to the top searches for people in the US.
Just like in the UK, Americans were also keen on knowing whether travel advisories were issued in Kenya.
US citizens also took a keen interest in the use of teargas by the police during the protest.
