A supposed article from KTN News about opposition unity in Kenya has been circulating on social media, but it has been debunked as fake. The article, titled "Gachagua's bullying claims put opposition unity on the brink as political trust erodes," alleges that the opposition is facing internal divisions ahead of the 2027 elections. It claims that former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua's leadership style is straining relations among coalition principals.
An initial review by PesaCheck found that the article is absent from KTN News' website and social media pages, where its stories are typically published. A comparison with authentic KTN News articles revealed a key inconsistency: the fake article uses a still image instead of an embedded YouTube video. This inconsistency raised suspicions about the article's authenticity.
PesaCheck contacted Joan Mwai, Standard Group's social media editor, who confirmed that the article is not from KTN News. "This is not ours," Mwai said via WhatsApp. This confirmation further supports the fact that the article is fake and was created to spread misinformation about opposition unity in Kenya.
The fake article emerged following reports that Gachagua had proposed a three-bloc alliance involving his party, the Linda Mwananchi Movement, and the Wiper Patriotic Front, excluding other parties aligned to the opposition coalition. This proposal had sparked tensions within the Democracy for the Citizens Party (DCP) and disagreements with other opposition figures.
PesaCheck is part of an ongoing effort to combat misinformation on social media platforms, partnering with Facebook and other platforms to fact-check content. The initiative aims to provide the public with deeper insight and context into posts they see in their social media feeds.
The fact-check was conducted by PesaCheck fact-checker Rodgers Omondi and edited by senior copy editor Mary Mutisya and chief copy editor Stephen Ndegwa. The article was approved for publication by PesaCheck managing editor Doreen Wainainah. PesaCheck is East Africa's first public finance fact-checking initiative, co-founded by Catherine Gicheru and Justin Arenstein.
PesaCheck is an initiative of Code for Africa, through its innovateAFRICA fund, with support from Deutsche Welle Akademie, in partnership with local African media and civic watchdog organisations. The project seeks to help the public separate fact from fiction in public pronouncements about public finances and media reportage.
Key points
- The article claiming to be from KTN News about opposition unity in Kenya is fake.
- The fake article was created to spread misinformation about opposition unity in Kenya.
- PesaCheck is working to combat misinformation on social media platforms through fact-checking initiatives.
