Infotrak Research explained why a poll posted on the company's official Twitter account was pulled down amid a raging debate on social media.
After the Presidential running mate debate on Tuesday, July 19, Infotrak put up a poll asking social media users on Twitter who they would support following the outcome of the debate.
According to screengrabs being shared on social media, Kenya Kwanza running mate Rigathi Gachagua was in the lead before the poll was deleted and this is what has caused an uproar.
But Infotrak's CEO Angela Ambitho who spoke to Kenyans.co.ke allayed fears raised by Kenyans on the authenticity of research companies and the role these polls play in shaping the electoral period.
She explained that the poll was a way of gauging the running mate debate and the overall feeling of Kenyans but while the votes came in the firm noticed something unusual.
Ambitho remarked that they realized that the poll had been infiltrated by bots and this undermined the authenticity of the survey. As Infotrak's social media team kept monitoring the poll they realized a huge chunk of the accounts voting were not authentic.
"When we did this Twitter poll we realized there were bots and we decided to pull it do. A Twitter poll is not scientific but it can give a gauge of what Twitter users think," she noted.
She acknowledged that the social media platform has bots and that running an uncluttered poll is difficult. Ambitho noted that Infotrak will be running another poll today which will adhere to the science of data gathering and will share the results with Kenyans.
"We will be running another poll today and unlike the Twitter one which was compromised this poll will be scientific. So we will select participants randomly and we don't risk a case where one person votes more than once," she added.
Ambitho also maintained that the poll was not pulled down since UDA running mate Rigathi Gachagua was leading, as it is being purported by Kenya Kwanza supporters.
"It does not mean we pulled it down because someone was winning it had been compromised. Social media polls can’t be termed as a scientific poll."
In recent days, questions have been raised over the authenticity of various accounts on Twitter. Reuters reported that researchers estimate that anywhere from 9% to 15% of the millions of Twitter profiles are automated accounts or bots.
Questions about the role bots play in spreading misinformation have dogged all social media platforms. For instance in Kenya, Mozilla Foundation exposed how verified Twitter users were used in fueling disinformation.
According to the report, high-profile Twitter accounts were being hired out and used to attack judges, journalists and members of civil society.
Twitter deleted more than 240 Kenyan accounts after a global report found that a number of Kenyan influencers were used to spread misinformation.
