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Welcome to KE254, capital of propaganda, spin and slander

Several shops and Business in Nairobi's CBD during the 2022 general election. [Edward Kiplimo,Standard]

One of the most noticeable things in the lead up to the 2022 elections is the optimal and ruthless deployment of social media. The political formations deployed tens of social media influencers to push messages across.

The result was stealth communication tactics: The use of social media tools makes it easy to pass a message quickly and cheaply to multitudes of audiences at the click of "send".

A disclaimer: it is not in my place to criticise other forms of media for the simple reason that those who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones. But to the extent that social media is a double-edged sword; both a risk and a benefit to our democracy, I owe it to the Kenyan public to speak about it.