A section of social media users have shared widely posts insinuating that US Vice President Kamala Harris and Tanzania's President Samia Suluhu Hassan had congratulated Narc Kenya Party leader, Martha Wangari Karua, on her nomination as Azimio la Umoja's Presidential running mate.
However, information carried by both viral social media posts is false and misleading to the public.
Kenyans.co.ke has established that neither of the two leaders sent congratulatory messages to Karua on her nomination as Raila Odinga's running mate ahead of the August 9 General Election.
President Suluhu's last social media post was shared on Saturday, May 14 when she congratulated Sheikh Mohamed Zayed for being elected as the third President of the United United Arab Emirates following the demise of UAE President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
On the other hand, US Vice President Kamala last social media post was posted on Monday 16, which she shared on her tour to the United Arab Emirates.
"I traveled to the United Arab Emirates to express condolences on the passing of Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed, who was a close friend of the U.S, and to make clear we will continue to deepen our partnership under UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed’s leadership," Kamala last statement read.
The posts are thus not true and do not reflect the two leader's positions as the country prepares for the August polls.
This comes even as Meta, Facebook’s parent company, announced aggressive steps to tackle the spread of misinformation on its services in Kenya.
Meta announced that advertisers seeking to run various political ads will have to undergo a verification process to prove their identity including their location in a bid to ensure transparency in political advertising during the electioneering period.
"Political advertisers in Kenya will also be labelled with a “Paid for by” disclaimer to show who’s behind the advert," Meta stated.
"Meta will at the same time put political adverts that run in Kenya on its advertisements Library so that everyone can see what adverts are running, information about targeting, and how much was spent. This fully searchable archive will store these adverts for seven years," the company stated.
Media Council of Kenya in collaboration with other media houses is also training media practitioners and equipping them with relevant tools to flag fake news and end misinformation during the electioneering period.
The Ministry of ICT led by Cabinet Secretary Joe Mucheru maintained that the government will not shut down social media during and after the polls but it will keenly monitor the platforms to ensure misleading information is not propagated.
