The Kenya Correspondents Association (KCA) is engaging at least 30 editors to scale up the fight against disinformation.
The editors from Nyanza, Western and Coast will be part of the KCA’s Media Information Literacy (MIL) program aimed at promoting factual reporting.
Disinformation can best be fought if deliberate mitigation measures are taken through the mass media
Oloo Janak
The editors on Wednesday converged in Kisumu for a two-day session where they are mapping out disinformation trends in their areas.
Oloo Janak, KCA Chairman said rural areas are most exposed to disinformation, hence the need to use regional mass media platforms to engage them.
“Disinformation can best be fought if deliberate mitigation measures are taken through the mass media,” said Janak.
Regional media at risk
Janak said little resourced regional media fall prey to disseminating disinformation, as many of them use social media as key source of their content.
This, he said put the regional media houses at risk, especially from regulators, and communities where they operate in.
Editors are at the heart of the production of the stories by editors, hence should be engaged more on challenges emanating from disinformation
Josephine Wareta
“It is the editors who manage and approve of the content produced by the correspondents, hence they play a very important role in combating disinformation,” said Janak.
Josephine Wareta, a producer and editor at Kenya Broadcasting Corporation noted the need to always engage editors.
She said the engagement was timely.
“Editors are at the heart of the production of the stories by editors, hence should be engaged more on challenges emanating from disinformation,” said Wareta.
reckless influencers
Irine Olwande, and Editor at Tivet Star newspaper said some of the community influencers find their content in the media, hence the engagement helps editors on how to sieve such information.
“Many of the community content creators only care about the money from their work, and not their role in factually informing the communities,” she said.
The engagement is part of the larger program on strengthening the role of correspondents in combatting disinformation.
According to Janak, the project which commenced last year also targets community influencers who are at vantage position in disseminating disinformation.
“This project was conceptualized following an upsurge of disinformation in Kenya, especially during the Corona pandemic and the election period,” said Janak.
