For the first time, the social media giants (Google, Facebook and Twitter) complied with requests to delete false information. In short, most countries lack a neutral authority to distinguish false information from genuine voices of dissent. At the time, social media had not yet taken root in Kenya and people were exchanging updates about the conflict through SMS. During the debate, senators expressed worries that foreign social media companies such as Tiktok were making money from personal data collected in Kenya. Across the border, Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni has ordered a crackdown on social media after rumours of his death went viral.

Source: The Star July 23, 2021 01:30 UTC