We have entered the dicey period of fake news and alternative facts

Election campaign periods offer very fertile ground for the proliferation of fake news.

A loose allegation is made, gets broadcast on television and is published in the newspapers, then after it is repeated over and over again, it is raised to the level of gospel truth.

Don’t believe wholesale all that you are hearing at political rallies, or reading on social media and other platforms.

The mainstream media, in particular, should strive to verify all the unproven claims being bandied around before they circulate them.

The Al-Ghurair ballot saga has offered an excellent medium for the dissemination of alternative facts.

SINGLE SOURCING

The case was back in court on Thursday, courtesy of the Opposition, which is challenging the single-sourcing of the contract the printer signed with the IEBC and the company’s “relationship” with the Head of State’s family.

I should point out that what is at issue for me here is to appraise the story from a workaday media perspective; it is not about the legal particulars of the latest case.

That a businessman going by the name of Majid Saif Al-Ghurair visited State House some time last year as head of a delegation from the Dubai chamber of commerce is not in doubt.

In fact the businessman happens to be the CEO of the Al-Ghurair Group, a diversified conglomerate.

STATE HOUSE VISIT

Is the Al-Ghurair printing company linked to the Al-Ghurair Group?

The general manager of the former, Lakshamanan Ganapathy, issued a statement soon after the uproar over the State House visit erupted denying any connection beyond the coincidence of family names. Is that the case?

It should not be too difficult for any media outlet to place a call or do an email to the Dubai chamber of commerce to establish the essential facts.

Alternatively, the website of the Al-Ghurair Group could provide useful pointers.

SINISTER CONSPIRACY

Was a sinister conspiracy hatched when Majid Saif Al-Ghurair and his team met with the President?

Kenya chamber of commerce and industry chairman Kiprono Kittony, who by virtue of his position was closely involved in the Dubai chamber of commerce delegation’s visit, was quoted on the record as saying that nothing about printing tenders was discussed at State House.

Was Kittony telling the truth? Again, nobody went out of their way to seek his clarification.

LACK OF FAITH

Let’s consider another example of alternative facts. Not too long ago on the campaign trail, none other than President Kenyatta claimed that Kalonzo Musyoka had submitted his name to his Wiper party for nomination as a senator.

This was a sure sign, the President intimated, of the Wiper leader’s lack of faith in Nasa’s mission.

Yet such a nomination would be strange, because senatorial nominations are constitutionally reserved for women and individuals in special categories for which Kalonzo doesn’t qualify.

As a matter of fact, Wiper officials were categorical that at the time the President made his remark, the party did not have any list of applicants for Senate nominations.

The question arises, from where did the President come by his information?

DEAD VOTERS

Ah, there is Raila Odinga and his torrent of press conferences.

We have heard so many times from him of how two million “dead” people voted for the Jubilee presidential candidate in 2013, but whose numbers were not reflected down the voting ladder because they were fictitious.

On Wednesday, the Daily Nation, in a sidebar on page 6, carried figures from IEBC of 2013 certified results that showed the variance between the overall presidential votes cast and those cast for each of the other positions below was insignificant. And yet, the narrative of two million “ghost” voters persists.

The alternative realities being pushed from all sides, and which are in conflict with actual reality, have become very disorienting.

APPEAR CONFUSED

State agencies and so-called independent institutions appear most confused in dealing with this phenomenon.

Their clumsy attempts at reconciling what are two irreconcilable realities – one false, the other genuine – has only made a ridiculous situation worse. Water and oil can never mix.

These days, trying to hold a sensible, uncluttered discussion on politics or even what should be mundane topics like the standard gauge rail is a waste of time.

Facts don’t matter. Innuendo does. Even political debates on television have become tedious to watch.

Those paraded as analysts sound more like party activists. Urg! 

Warigi is a socio-political commentator