Online disinformation stokes tensions as Kenya elections near

A customer uses the WiFi on her mobile phone at an Internet cafe in the low-income Kibera neighbourhood of Nairobi, Kenya. Platforms like TikTok, Facebook and Twitter are failing to effectively police abusive content ahead of Kenya's high-stakes election, warn digital rights groups. — AP

NAIROBI: Social media users in Kenya are being exposed to political disinformation, hate speech and incitement against ethnic communities ahead of elections in August, with rights groups warning the posts are stoking tensions around the vote.

A report by the Mozilla Foundation this month highlighted scores of posts on the TikTok app, including videos that likened a political candidate to Hitler and claimed he would attack other ethnic groups once in power.