DW Akademie in Kenya

Kenya is riddled with conflicts. Given the political polarization and ethnic tensions, hate speech, fake news and propaganda have increased at a disturbing rate. They are powered by dangerous rumors about COVID-19, by Russian disinformation campaigns about the war in Ukraine as well as reasons for the worsening food crisis. Prejudices and stereotypes are often deeply rooted in the population but also reflected or fueled by the media.

Media houses trying to counter this with well-researched stories and conflict-sensitive reporting often hit a wall because many media are owned by politicians who stoke ethnic conflicts and support biased reporting. Given the coronavirus pandemic, many media outlets are also struggling to survive financially and lack the equipment or staff needed to produce skilled reporting.

Nevertheless, media at the national level strive to fulfil their role as a social conscience and political watchdog. Large profitable newspaper publishers in the country's capital continue to uncover corruption scandals, criticize political decisions or report on social wrongdoings. Still, media ownership is highly concentrated: five large media organizations own almost the entire broadcasting sector, including the private companies "Nation Media Group," “Standard Media Group" and “Royal Media Services."

Our activities

To help counter hate speech and misinformation, DW Akademie works with local experts and partner organizations to support radio stations in rural areas. The goal is for them to report independently, fairly and accurately. Experts from a so-called iLAB monitor Kenyan reporting and uncover disinformation and misinformation.

Download our most recent Evaluation Report for East Africa here.

A network of investigative verification teams in media outlets helps determine if something is true or fake, whether a source is reliable, and helps recognize biased information. Each team focuses on rumors and fake news that have the greatest impact and relevance on a specific issue. These include COVID-19 and health, public spending and corruption, extremism and hate speech.

DW Akademie also supports an alumni network. Members regularly meet for conferences and discussions on current topics pertaining to the media industry and freedom of expression.

To help media outlets become more financially stable, DW Akademie works with Kenyan experts to establish a pool of media consultants; these help local radio stations develop viable business models and quality journalism skills for radio and online. The stations are also forming a broadcasters association so that they can represent their interests and rights together, and have a stronger bargaining power when dealing with political decision makers and advertisers.
 

Funding: German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)

Program Director: Nina Otte-Witte

Local partners: Code of Africa, Grand Wave Consortiuim, Kenya Correspondents Association, Aga Khan University, DW Akademie Alumni Chapter Kenya, Bloggers Association of Kenya (BAKE), Afrika Check,  Deutsche Gesellschaft für internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), Transparency International

Focus: Journalism training, management consultancy, economic sustainability, verification, investigative journalism, online journalism