Mwalimu-G
Elder Lister
Why media lies that Kioni didn’t vote for Mudavadi have persisted
Friday, January 15, 2021
The UDF deputy party leader Jeremiah Kioni addresses a press conference at the party offices in Lavington, Nairobi, on October 6, 2014. On the left is the party leader, Mr Musalia Mudavadi
File | Nation Media Group
By Peter Mwaura
Nation Media Group's public editor.
What you need to know:
The claim was first made by the media but it was debunked by Mr Kioni himself, Mr Mudavadi, IEBC data and, finally, a High Court judge. Yet it has continued to be believed.
This is a clear case of why it’s important to find out why misinformation in the media gains currency even after it has been corrected. It’s also a clear case of how herd journalism works.
NMG was among the six media houses accused of spreading the false information. Altogether, three television and two radio stations, four newspapers and a coterie of seven well-known editors, writers and popular news anchors and talk show hosts, were implicated.
They were accused of falsely reporting, and ridiculing Mr Kioni, that on March 4, 2013, the Ndaragwa MP cast his vote at Ndururumo, where the results showed no vote was cast for Mr Mudavadi, the United Democratic Forum Party (UDF) presidential candidate.
Jeered and booed
When Mr Kioni rose to speak at the burial ceremony, he was jeered and booed. That is how strongly the people of Vihiga believed he is a cheat. Mr Mudavadi left his seat to stand by Mr Kioni to protect him.
The misinformation was first published on March 5, 2013, by Citizen TV and repeated in other media in a kind of echo chamber reporting. But on March 11, 2013, Mr Kioni published a statement in the Daily Nation demonstrating that the media reports were unfounded.
Mr Kioni didn’t cast his vote at Ndururumo. There was no such polling station. He voted at Kanyagia Primary School, polling station number 043, where he is registered as a voter.
On March 26, 2013, he sued all the six media houses. It took more than seven years to get a judgment.
Awarded Sh7 million
On October 29, 2020, Justice Lucy Njuguna awarded him Sh7 million against Standard Media Group and Radio Africa Group as damages for defaming him.
However, she dismissed the cases against NTV and Buni Limited (producers of the XYZ Show), Classic 105, Citizen and K24 because they “were not proved” since the purported evidence against them was based on audios which were not produced in court.
But important questions remain: Why do Kenyans believe fake news in the media even after it has been debunked? Why do false stories published in the media but later corrected resurface or simply refuse to go away? How does media misinformation gain currency and in what contexts?
These are questions for which we need answers from research by Kenyan social scientists. As far as I know, no such research exists. In the absence of such research, one can only guess the answers, which I hereby do.
My starting point is the trust Kenyans have in the media. The percentage of Kenyans who have confidence in the media is a phenomenal 97 per cent, according to the “Status of the Media Report 2020” of the Media Council of Kenya.
No wonder, people take practically everything the media say as gospel truth and corrections don’t seem to matter or offset the original story.
They are quicker to assume a story is true than to accept it is not, especially when it’s aligned with their views or reinforces their political beliefs. They’re also more susceptible to false stories about people or things they don’t like or agree with.
They’re natural storytellers and brush aside inconvenient facts. The more riveting a story, the better. Lord, have mercy on us.
The Public Editor is an independent news ombudsman who handles readers’ complaints on editorial matters including accuracy and journalistic standards. Email: publiceditor@ke.nationmedia.com. Call or text 0721989264.
Friday, January 15, 2021
The UDF deputy party leader Jeremiah Kioni addresses a press conference at the party offices in Lavington, Nairobi, on October 6, 2014. On the left is the party leader, Mr Musalia Mudavadi
File | Nation Media Group
By Peter Mwaura
Nation Media Group's public editor.
What you need to know:
- Mr Kioni voted at Kanyagia Primary School, polling station number 043, where he is registered as a voter.
- On October 29, 2020, Justice Lucy Njuguna awarded him Sh7 million against Standard Media Group and Radio Africa Group as damages for defaming him.
The claim was first made by the media but it was debunked by Mr Kioni himself, Mr Mudavadi, IEBC data and, finally, a High Court judge. Yet it has continued to be believed.
This is a clear case of why it’s important to find out why misinformation in the media gains currency even after it has been corrected. It’s also a clear case of how herd journalism works.
NMG was among the six media houses accused of spreading the false information. Altogether, three television and two radio stations, four newspapers and a coterie of seven well-known editors, writers and popular news anchors and talk show hosts, were implicated.
They were accused of falsely reporting, and ridiculing Mr Kioni, that on March 4, 2013, the Ndaragwa MP cast his vote at Ndururumo, where the results showed no vote was cast for Mr Mudavadi, the United Democratic Forum Party (UDF) presidential candidate.
Jeered and booed
When Mr Kioni rose to speak at the burial ceremony, he was jeered and booed. That is how strongly the people of Vihiga believed he is a cheat. Mr Mudavadi left his seat to stand by Mr Kioni to protect him.
The misinformation was first published on March 5, 2013, by Citizen TV and repeated in other media in a kind of echo chamber reporting. But on March 11, 2013, Mr Kioni published a statement in the Daily Nation demonstrating that the media reports were unfounded.
Mr Kioni didn’t cast his vote at Ndururumo. There was no such polling station. He voted at Kanyagia Primary School, polling station number 043, where he is registered as a voter.
On March 26, 2013, he sued all the six media houses. It took more than seven years to get a judgment.
Awarded Sh7 million
On October 29, 2020, Justice Lucy Njuguna awarded him Sh7 million against Standard Media Group and Radio Africa Group as damages for defaming him.
However, she dismissed the cases against NTV and Buni Limited (producers of the XYZ Show), Classic 105, Citizen and K24 because they “were not proved” since the purported evidence against them was based on audios which were not produced in court.
But important questions remain: Why do Kenyans believe fake news in the media even after it has been debunked? Why do false stories published in the media but later corrected resurface or simply refuse to go away? How does media misinformation gain currency and in what contexts?
These are questions for which we need answers from research by Kenyan social scientists. As far as I know, no such research exists. In the absence of such research, one can only guess the answers, which I hereby do.
My starting point is the trust Kenyans have in the media. The percentage of Kenyans who have confidence in the media is a phenomenal 97 per cent, according to the “Status of the Media Report 2020” of the Media Council of Kenya.
No wonder, people take practically everything the media say as gospel truth and corrections don’t seem to matter or offset the original story.
They are quicker to assume a story is true than to accept it is not, especially when it’s aligned with their views or reinforces their political beliefs. They’re also more susceptible to false stories about people or things they don’t like or agree with.
They’re natural storytellers and brush aside inconvenient facts. The more riveting a story, the better. Lord, have mercy on us.
The Public Editor is an independent news ombudsman who handles readers’ complaints on editorial matters including accuracy and journalistic standards. Email: publiceditor@ke.nationmedia.com. Call or text 0721989264.
