2013, KTN #Choice2013. Citizen, K24, The People, The Standard Newspaper also had own hashtags which they promoted via Facebook and Twitter to promote interaction with the audience. Most journalists were apparently monitoring activity on the social media since most of the stories during the election period carried Twitter and Facebook quotes from readers. According to Peter Mwai, an online sub-editor at Nation Media Group, the social media was a key platform in disseminating election news and a place for key leads to stories. According to Mr Mwai Twitter, Facebook and the websites were the only channels newspapers used to disseminate election results and other breaking news especially after the papers had gone to press. He said some of the news covered by journalists were a product of twitter and Facebook leaders from citizens. "I remember there was a case of IEBC officials being roughed up at Kenyatta University over unmarked ballot papers. That story first broke on Twitter and Facebook," says Mr Mwai.
46
The Media
OBSERVER
As the story developed on the social media, IEBC was forced to respond clarifying that its officials were just relocating election materials and there was no fouls play. Readers on Twitter and Facebook even shared pictures of what was happening on the ground. The situation at one point got out of hand as a section of Kenyatta University students went on rampage, setting a vehicle ablaze and roughing up motorists. As it later turned out the information that was being shared on Twitter and Facebook was somewhat inaccurate but since neither the mainstream media nor IEBC had clarified the issue, the public
Journalists and media houses must constantly crawl twitter and Facebook for leads on what is cooking in various parts of the country since it is impossible to be in all places at the same time. It is also pertinent to learn that media political propagandists often use the social media to mislead and tilt public opinion thus it requires journalists to be hawk-eyed separate truth from mendacity.
believed all that was being said on social media. Later that evening on TV stations and the following day on newspapers, IEBC explained what was transpiring, completely changing the notion that had been created online. An important aspect to note is most journalists who ended up at Kenyatta University to cover the story got the lead from Twitter and Facebook highlighting the importance social media played in the election coverage. TV and radio journalists were also interacting with viewers and listeners via Twitter and Facebook and often sampled some of the comments on air. Unlike in Live TV where it is tricky to censor hate messages from politicians, the media was able to sieve out hateful comments from their social media platforms. Anchors of Nation Media Group's NTV at one point named and shamed some of the hate speech perpetrators on screen. As Kenya enters a new political era, it will remain in history that the power of the social media cannot be underestimated. Journalists and media houses must constantly crawl Twitter and Facebook for leads on what is cooking in various parts of the country since it is impossible to be in all places at the same time. It is also pertinent to learn that media political propagandists often use the social media to mislead and tilt public opinion thus it requires journalists to be hawk-eyed separate truth from mendacity. Mr James Ratemo works at the Nation Media Group. jratemo@gmail.com