Kenya’s 2027 electoral contest is taking shape in an information environment where political narratives can spread faster than institutions can verify, respond to or correct them, a new report says
The KICTANet report, Many Microphones, Little Accountability, warns that Kenya’s shift from traditional media to influencers, TikTok, Facebook, YouTube and podcasts is creating a widening gap between political influence and accountability.
As a result, this is raising concerns about polarisation and public trust in the institutions that must deliver a peaceful election.
The study notes that repeated misinformation can alter how citizens perceive political opponents, electoral institutions and the legitimacy of the eventual outcome.
The report particularly identifies a pattern of “fabrication, acceleration and consolidation” across platforms.
Fabricated material can first appear as a fake newspaper article or doctored headline, spread rapidly through emotionally charged social-media content and eventually be reinforced through long-form commentary and podcasts.
KICTANet says this ecosystem is contributing to a shift in trust from formal institutions towards personalities and influencers. One interviewee captured the change succinctly: “people believe the messenger they relate to, not the institution behind the message.”
That finding are particularly relevant to the 2027 election given it is in an election where institutions such as the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission, the Judiciary, security agencies, political parties and the media will be expected to manage disputes, communicate credible information and secure acceptance of electoral outcomes.
The Kofi Annan Foundation has previously warned that disinformation can go beyond misleading individual voters to sowing distrust in democratic institutions and the media.
Its Commission on Elections and Democracy in the Digital Age found that disinformation can undermine confidence in free and fair elections by casting doubt on the integrity of the ballot, the impartiality of election-management bodies and the accuracy of results. It also warned that social-media manipulation can exacerbate existing political and social divisions.
Kenya has already experienced the consequences of disputed electoral processes, some of them triggered by polarisation and mistrust in electoral commission and the Judiciary.
In its post-election review of the 2022 election, the Kofi Annan Foundation and the Centre for Multiparty Democracy said the election was concluded peacefully and that a legal dispute over the presidential result was settled through the courts.
However, the review also identified rampant mis- and disinformation and an internal split within the IEBC as problems that created frustration and uncertainty after the vote. It stressed that the most basic measure of an election’s success is a peaceful conclusion and acceptance of the outcome.
This makes the credibility of institutions as important as the technical conduct of polling.
The IEBC’s own post-election evaluation of the 2022 General Election provides an important counterpoint.
The Commission reported that its results-transmission system successfully transmitted all 46,229 presidential results forms from polling stations to the public portal. It also recorded more than 380 million requests to access presidential results forms, which IEBC said enhanced transparency.
Yet the same evaluation identified legal gaps, late court rulings, delayed release of funds and other operational challenges affecting election preparations.
The Commission has subsequently recognised that technology alone cannot guarantee confidence. During preparations for 2027, IEBC officials have stressed the need for electoral technology to be simple, verifiable, secure, accountable and transparent, while acknowledging the growing influence of new media and artificial intelligence.
Its Election Operations Plan for 2025–2027 describes the IEBC as a key institutional guarantor of citizens’ democratic choice and the legitimacy of governance, underscoring the centrality of public confidence in its work.
Chief Justice Martha Koome has similarly placed institutional credibility at the centre of preparations for 2027.
Speaking at the launch of the Judiciary Committee on Elections Operational Plan in July 2025, Koome said electoral justice was a shared responsibility and called for cooperation between the Judiciary, IEBC and other stakeholders to safeguard a peaceful and credible electoral process.
Importantly, she identified countering disinformation and building public trust in the Judiciary’s handling of electoral disputes as part of the preparations for 2027.
At the June 2026 launch of the IEBC’s Strategic Plan and Election Operations Plan, Koome also called for stronger action against political violence, while IEBC chairman Erastus Ethekon warned rising political tensions could undermine the environment necessary for credible elections.
KICTANet findings say misinformation is increasingly driven by emotional engagement, personality-based trust and economic incentives.
Content creators can benefit financially from controversy, with one interviewee telling researchers that “controversy drives engagement, and engagement translates to income.”
The result can be an information cycle in which provocative claims receive greater visibility, reinforcing existing political identities while corrections struggle to achieve comparable reach.
Kofi Annan’s work on elections similarly warns that countries with existing polarisation and histories of political violence can be particularly vulnerable to the weaponisation of social media.
