On Tuesday morning, June 9, Kenyans on social media shared an image thought to be the Daily Nation's with the headline 'Maraga Meets With Ruto'.
The article alleged that the Chief Justice had met with Deputy President William Ruto to plot how parliament would be dissolved.
"Chief Justice met with Ruto to plot on dissolving parliament. Botching parliament will slow Uhuru's momentum," read the standfirst (a brief introductory summary of an article in a newspaper).
Kenyans.co.ke can confirm that the copy of the newspaper is fake.
The authentic headline of The Daily Nation newspaper on June 9, 2020, is 'On whose side are you? CJ Maraga asks Uhuru, a story that relays Maraga's displeasure with President Uhuru Kenyatta's disregard for the rule of law.
The fake newspaper has similar headlines to the original copy for example; the other stories on the publication are similar.
The peddling of fake newspapers has been on the rise in the last couple of weeks, with the offenders getting better at the job. For example, the headline would be easily believable because of the statement the chief justice made yesterday.
"The front page of the paper looks a bit off though the font type looks similar. False stories often have catchy headlines which sound unbelievable," Brian Muuo, a digital expert told Kenyans.co.ke.
The copy of The Standard on June 9, also had an imitation with a title that reads 'Maraga Set to Dissolve Parliament' as opposed to the original 'Faces that speeded up divorce'
Citizen TV news anchor warned Kenyans to be wary of fake news as she posted the differences in the headlines on her Twitter page.
"It's political season. With it comes propaganda and fake news. Fake headlines. Endless hashtags, such as 'Uhuru must go' or 'Ruto must go' etc.
"Don't get caught up in it all. Be a little more circumspect about everything you see and hear and spread," she warned.
Yet again, on Wednesday, May 27, 2020, a fake issue thought to be The Standard newspaper cover surfaced the internet with an image of the DP's wife Rachel Ruto bearing the headline 'Rachel in hiding?'.
The article claimed that Ruto’s marriage was on the rocks and that Rachel, his spouse, was no longer living in their official residence in the leafy suburbs of Karen, Nairobi.
The Standard termed the image as fake on its Twitter handle.
On March 18, 2020, President Uhuru Kenyatta assented to the Computer and Cybercrimes Bill, 2017.
Clause 12 of the law indicates that publishing false information will attract a Sh5 million fine or a two-year jail term.
“A person who intentionally publishes false, misleading or fictitious data or misinforms with the intent that the data shall be considered or acted upon as authentic, with or without any financial gain, commits an offence and shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine not exceeding five million shillings or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years, or to both," reads the clause.
