Developments in media technology and in the field of journalism have both disrupted the media ecosystem and provided opportunities. However, despite all the tech buzz words and razzmatazz that technology has introduced in journalism, it is the art of storytelling and how these stories are distributed that has been at the core of most constructive conversations. Underpinning such conversations has been issues such as objectivity in the wake of digital media, constructive journalism, ethical storytelling and the value add of immersive storytelling through Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality.
But then the instantaneous speed at which information is relayed today and the prominence of citizens in how information is consumed and distributed has also raised a number of issues around misinformation and disinformation. The crux herein is the instantaneous speed at which end consumers distribute, via personal mass media platforms like WhatsApp, what speaks to their interests and aspirations, often without looking at the wider context or who the else might be hit by the message.
You see, all the folks in most elite groups like university, high school or even professional alumni are literally experts in different fields with vast experience and of course media literacy skills. However, typical of our society, we probably have different political affiliations and it does appear that the more knowledgeable and experienced we are, the more strongly we hold on the things that we believe including political persuasions. Today, there are those of us who strongly support the Hustler Nation, the other guys who are anti-hustlers, Raila Amollo Odinga supporters, OKA folks or Kenyans who just want a free, fair and transparent election. In most groups that I have I belong to, the contention of ideas and support seems to be fairly ferocious between Deputy President William Ruto and the former PM Raila Odinga. One particular group, my university alumni group, the hustler brigade seems to have such strong beliefs in some of the hustler ideals including the bottom-up economic model, and these guys push every other content that speaks of the economic model and the Deputy President. This small band in the group, though minority, has on numerous occasions rattled and literary made everyone believe that the hustler nation has already won the 2022 contest.
Well, that is a digression; politics is not the issue, but certainly gives a contextual underpinning. You see, with the emergence of the digital media, the attendant digital disruption and the citizens’ active involvement in the media and news information ecosystem, the issue of media accountability has become extremely pertinent. My senior in communication scholarship, David Cheruiyot, has conceptualised an ecosystem that has journalists, the subsystems of control like the Media Council of Kenya and what he calls the ‘other guys.’
These ‘other guys’ are in all these digital spaces and they have become critical players, not only in pollicising the ecosystem, but also as part of the ecosystem that needs to be accountable. They spread information as credible news and in an electioneering season we are increasingly witnessing the distribution of false narratives as news, propaganda and negative advertising.
Beyond politics, some headlines and fairly sensationalised stories originating from either less credible sources or unverified sources find spaces in these personal social media platforms and a few questions rise. Are the folks sharing these stories doing so because they want to inform others and do they exercise any due diligence to ascertain the veracity of such content. Second, in instances where the content elicits polemic reactions, especially political content, do they have a responsibility to let the rest of the group members understand their positions on the content they are sharing.
Lastly, do they understand that any information that they share needs to be of public interest? Simply put, the emergence of the ‘other guys’ and the power that the digital platform has given ‘these guys’ makes accountability a major issue in the media ecosystem today. In the run up to the 2022 general election, we are likely to see media content originating from quarters we don’t know or understand push different political agendas and most of the ‘other guys’ in our circles will push the ones that glorify their candidates or demonize the rival candidates like wild bushfires. Some content will be branded in legacy media colours and logos to deceive the public. The propagators will unleash bloggers, attack dogs and all manner of purveyors of their narratives to achieve their goals.
The author is a PhD Candidate in Media Studies and Political communication.