Engagement on the platforms is driven by emotional resonance, identity alignment and perceived authenticity.
Occasionally, we meet adults of sound mind, education and means who proudly proclaim they get all their information from influencers and social media. They do not need newspapers, television, news websites, or even radio. To them, what were once considered alternative media platforms are now their mainstream. They argue that the more voices and platforms, the merrier.
The trend is global. The Reuters Institute 2026 Digital News Report shows that TikTok and Instagram are the fastest-growing video-led networks, driving much of the change in news consumption, together with YouTube. Facebook remains the biggest platform overall for news consumption. The report adds that a significant proportion of audiences reported getting their news from individual creators or influencers. They say creators are more entertaining, easier to understand and more relatable than traditional news outlets.
A report titled Many Microphones — Little Accountability by KICTANet (Kenya ICT Action Network), a think tank focused on ICT regulation and internet governance in Kenya, however, should interest these individuals and all Kenyans, especially as the country heads to the General Election next year.
KICTANet selected a few of these platforms for its study to understand how information disorder manifests across digital platforms. Its findings are as interesting as they are disturbing.
As expected, younger audiences are shifting away from institutions towards personality-driven platforms. Engagement on the platforms is driven by emotional resonance, identity alignment and perceived authenticity.
But, as the report notes, while the alternative news platforms have expanded access to information and civic participation, they have also accelerated the spread of mis/disinformation, often without adequate accountability mechanisms. Unlike legacy media newsrooms, which are guided by strict editorial guidelines, including the Media Council of Kenya’s code of ethics, these platforms have little accountability. Some operate between journalism and entertainment.
Some of the YouTube channels have become so influential that politicians prefer to be interviewed by an influencer rather than a journalist from a media house. This is because here, they can get away with unsubstantiated claims and create their own narratives.
It is, however, important to note that some influencers and podcasters operate professionally. At the same time, most legacy media houses are on these platforms, providing credible content.
Facebook, one of the most influential platforms in Kenya’s digital information ecosystem due to its wide reach, cross-generational use, reposting culture and ability to circulate screenshots, graphics, images and long-form content, was found to be effective for the spread of political information disorder.
“What makes Facebook significant in this ecosystem is not merely that false content appears there, but that the platform’s structure – reposting, screenshots, closed groups, and page networks – allows manipulated content to persist even after the original item has been challenged or corrected.”
Once a fabricated newspaper page or distorted front page acquires a life of its own through distribution, it acquires a level of believability and becomes impossible to correct. Even if it is corrected on the platform where it was first published, the disinformation spreads faster than the correction, to WhatsApp groups where it continues to circulate independently.
The report also notes that TikTok, used by about half of internet users in Kenya, remains one of the most consequential platforms for election-period narrative acceleration because it rewards short, emotionally charged, highly relatable content. Here, political commentary blends humour, insider-style opinion and emotionally charged interpretation. A clip can pass off an opinion as a fact, without presenting any evidence, thereby framing a political narrative.
On the other hand, YouTube and the podcast ecosystem package political speculation as extended discussion, “analysis”, or insider commentary, with discussions drifting between fact and rumour.
Interestingly, many of the interviewees acknowledged that misinformation spreads rapidly on social media. Sadly, to the point where it has been normalised. Another disturbing finding was a general acknowledgement that some of the disinformation is paid for.
What do these findings portend for the 2027 General Election? The report observes that the widening gap between influence and accountability exposes Kenyans to narrative manipulation, intensified political polarisation, voter-decision distortion, erosion of institutional trust and growing exposure to AI-generated deepfake content.
To address the risks before the elections, the report recommends that State institutions, platforms and civil society build technical capacity for detection and verification of synthetic media within both state monitoring units and independent fact-checking organisations. They should also come up with guidelines around synthetic political content ahead of the 2027 campaign period.
Additionally, it calls for a task force to coordinate rapid detection, verification and response, the strengthening of platform accountability, including moderation of local language content and enhancement of digital media literacy.
Kenya has two choices: manage the risks before the elections or wait to deal with the consequences and write reports afterwards.
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