Be wary of sham poll results on social media

There will be no shortage of fake breaking news alerts now up to the day the election results are announced. PHOTO | COURTESY

We are three days to the General Election and there will be no shortage of breaking news alerts now up to the day the results are announced.

This week’s fake news watch focuses on politics and the post-debates discussion.

1. That Meshack Kimutai, an independent candidate in Emgwen constituency, had been shot

This emerged on Thursday night as a brief news-like post spread through WhatsApp.

It dramatically stated that the man had been shot four times and had since been admitted at the intensive care unit of a hospital that was not named.

Most of those who forwarded the message accompanied it with the question whether it was true, only stating that they had heard it from someone, a common Kenyan way of passing on unverified information.

FALSE
The correct position, according to the NMG’s Eldoret-based regional editor Jeremiah Kiplang’at, is that the information is not true.

Mr Kiplang’at said that from information by a reporter based in that area, there had been a confrontation between Mr Kimutai and his agents but the candidate was certainly not shot.

2. That the company that organised the presidential debates is owned by Nasa officials and a pollster

In the wake of the presidential debate headliner that turned into an interview of Raila Odinga, there was a variety of reactions.

Mr Odinga’s supporters revelled in the fact that he ended up having a platform all to himself as President Kenyatta’s supporters sought to justify his decision to skip the event.

Spreading through the messaging applications and on social media was a letter purportedly from the unnamed assistant registrar of companies.

It had been framed as a reply to an official inquiry and purported that a Nasa employee, one of its reported financiers, a media owner and a pollster were the owners of Debate Kenya Limited.

LETTER
It was however evident that the letter was meant to support some fake news.

First, it was dated July 22, an unlikely date for a civil servant to write a letter.

A lawyer familiar with the registration of companies also pointed out that companies are nowadays given a PVT number and not the CPR number that was on the letter.

Lastly, the company that organised the debates was Debates Media Limited, not Debate Kenya Ltd.