Contesting democracy in the digital age: Disinformation, hate speech, and technology-enabled security threats during Kenya’s 2022 general elections: Disinformation, Hate Speech, and Technology-Driven Security Threats

Peter Kipng’eno Kirui

doi:10.51867/ajernet.7.3.98

Authors

Peter Kipng’eno Kirui University of Eldoret https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3077-5857

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.51867/ajernet.7.3.98

Keywords:

Digital Democracy, Disinformation, Polarization, Peace, Social Media

Abstract

Social media use during elections has laid bare the opportunities and risks it portends for democracy and peace, especially for many consolidating democracies in Africa, such as Kenya. While digital democracy, defined as “the use of digital media in political and governance processes” has expanded the democratic space through increased participation, the digital space has also been used to spread disinformation and hate messages and have polarized populations and exacerbate the potential for conflict, particularly in charged political processes like elections. Interrogating Kenya’s 2022 General Election, this article aims at unpacking digital democracy as a tool that could threaten peace prior, during and after elections. It sought to answer three questions: How did disinformation polarize the electorate during Kenya’s 2022 General Elections? How did hate messages polarize the electorate and threaten peace during Kenya’s 2022 General Elections? How successful was government in regulating/sanctioning digital democracy violators during Kenya’2022 elections? Theoretically, this article is anchored in digital participatory democracy, and biased towards a qualitative approach. It adopted a case study design, and targeted University of Eldoret students and their peers, purposely targeted as youthful and most active users of social media. Primary data used was based on an online google form questionnaire deployed in August-September 2023, which attracted 311 respondents, an email e-mail questionnaire (7 responses), key informant online interviews (2 responses) and two (2) focus group discussions (FDGs). Key informant interviews targeting government officials especially from criminal justice system and findings corroborated with secondary academic and grey literature. It concludes that elections being very emotive and disputed in Kenya means digital democracy is a double-edged sword and has the potential to threaten peace during charged political contests, and where online polarization and hatred may manifest offline as real violence. Acknowledging the delicate balancing act of government in regulating digital democracy without curtailing individual freedoms, this article calls for sensitization on responsibilities of various actors in the digital space, with a view to harness digital democracy through responsible use of social media.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Abrahamsen, R., & Bareebe, G. (2021). Uganda's fraudulent election. Journal of Democracy, 32(2), 90-104.

https://doi.org/10.1353/jod.2021.0021

Access Now. (2023). Shutdown victim stories: Tanzania is weaponizing internet shutdowns. Access Now.

Adebayo, B. (2019, July 17). After a 16-month blackout, Chad is back on Facebook, Twitter and other social platforms. CNN.

Aichholzer, G., Rose, G., Hennen, L., van Keulen, I., Korthagen, I., Lindner, R., & Nielsen, R. Ø. (2020). European e-democracy in practice. In L. Hennen et al. (Eds.), European e-democracy in practice (pp. 329-359). Springer.

Ayandokun, A. A., & Nworu, C. N. (2021). Combating misinformation and disinformation in the digital era: The roles of library and information professionals in diverse societies [Conference paper]. 58th/59th National Conference and Annual General Meeting of the Nigerian Library Association.

BBC News. (2021). Uganda social media ban raises questions over regulation in Africa. BBC News.

Beaufort, M. (2018). Digital media, political polarization and challenges to democracy. Information, Communication & Society, 21(7), 915-920. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2018.1451909

Cheeseman, N., Kanyinga, K., Lynch, G., & Willis, J. (2024). Has Kenya democratized? Institutional strengthening and contingency in the 2022 general elections. Journal of Eastern African Studies, 18(2), 240-260. https://doi.org/10.1080/17531055.2024.2359154

Cohen, L., Manion, L., & Morrison, K. (2005). Research methods in education (5th ed.). RoutledgeFalmer.

Crowe, S., Cresswell, K., Robertson, A., Huby, G., Avery, A., & Sheikh, A. (2011). The case study approach. BMC Medical Research Methodology, 11, Article 100. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2288-11-100

Dad, N., & Khan, S. (2023). Reconstructing elections in a digital world. South African Journal of International Affairs, 30(3), 473-496. https://doi.org/10.1080/10220461.2023.2265886

Denzin, N. K., & Lincoln, Y. S. (Eds.). (2005). The SAGE handbook of qualitative research (3rd ed.). SAGE.

Fischli, R., & Muldoon, J. (2024). Empowering digital democracy. Perspectives on Politics, 22(3), 819-835.

https://doi.org/10.1017/S1537592724000409

Fuchs, C. (2026). What is digital democracy? Journal of Information Technology & Politics, 1-21. https://doi.org/10.1080/19331681.2026.2660162

Fung, A. (2013). Infotopia: Unleashing the democratic power of transparency. Politics & Society, 41(2), 183-212. https://doi.org/10.1177/0032329213483107

Gachuki, M. (2024). Kenya's protests herald a new age of anti-austerity youth politics. Global Labour Journal, 15(3), 182-184. https://doi.org/10.15173/glj.v15i3.5966

Ganguli, P. (2024). The role of social media patrolling in preventing low-level cybercrime: Opportunities and challenges. SSRN. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.5014735

Gopaldas, R. (2019). Digital dictatorship versus digital democracy in Africa. South African Institute of International Affairs. https://saiia.org.za/research/digital-dictatorship-versus-digital-democracy-in-africa/

Hacker, K. L., & van Dijk, J. (Eds.). (2000). Digital democracy: Issues of theory and practice. SAGE.

https://doi.org/10.4135/9781446218891

Hennink, M., Hutter, I., & Bailey, A. (2011). Qualitative research methods. SAGE.

Hesse-Biber, S. N. (2010). Qualitative approaches to mixed methods practice. Qualitative Inquiry, 16(6), 455-468. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077800410364611

Hong, S., & Kim, S. H. (2016). Political polarization on Twitter: Implications for the use of social media in digital governments. Government Information Quarterly, 33(4), 777-782. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.giq.2016.04.007

Hussain, N., & Phulpoto, S. (2024). Digital literacy: Empowering individuals in the digital age. Assyfa Learning Journal, 2(2), 70-83. https://doi.org/10.61650/alj.v2i2.231

Jeppesen, S., Giroux, H., Hoechsmann, M., Kumanyika, C., Van Dyke, D., & McKee, M. (2022). The Capitol riots: Digital media, disinformation, and democracy under attack. Routledge.

https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003246862

Kamau, S. C. (2017). Democratic engagement in the digital age: Youth, social media and participatory politics in Kenya. Communicatio, 43(2), 128-146. https://doi.org/10.1080/02500167.2017.1327874

Kimeu, C. (2022, August 16). Kenya opposition leader rejects election result as 'null and void'. The Guardian.

Kovacs, E. R., Cotfas, L. A., & Delcea, C. (2024). January 6th on Twitter: Measuring social media attitudes towards the Capitol riot through unhealthy online conversation and sentiment analysis. Journal of Information and Telecommunication, 8(1), 108-129. https://doi.org/10.1080/24751839.2023.2262067

Landemore, H. (2020). Open democracy: Reinventing popular rule for the twenty-first century. Princeton University Press. https://doi.org/10.23943/princeton/9780691181998.001.0001

Lorenz-Spreen, P., Lewandowsky, S., Sunstein, C. R., & Hertwig, R. (2020). How behavioural sciences can promote truth, autonomy and democratic discourse online. Nature Human Behaviour, 4(11), 1102-1109. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-020-0889-7

Lorenz-Spreen, P., Oswald, L., Lewandowsky, S., & Hertwig, R. (2023). A systematic review of worldwide causal and correlational evidence on digital media and democracy. Nature Human Behaviour, 7(1), 74-101. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-022-01460-1

Marsden, C., Meyer, T., & Brown, I. (2020). Platform values and democratic elections: How can the law regulate digital disinformation? Computer Law & Security Review, 36, Article 105373. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clsr.2019.105373

Mavriki, P., & Karyda, M. (2020). Big data analytics: From threatening privacy to challenging democracy. In S. Katsikas & V. Zorkadis (Eds.), E-democracy-Safeguarding democracy and human rights in the digital age (Communications in Computer and Information Science, Vol. 1111). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-37545-4_1

Mosero, R. (2022). In Kenya's 2022 elections, technology and data protection must go hand-in-hand. Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Noveck, B. S. (2016). Is open data the death of FOIA? Yale Law Journal Forum, 126, 273-296.

Nyabola, N. (2018, March 22). Politics in the digital age: Cambridge Analytica in Kenya. Al Jazeera.

Omweri, F. S. (2024). Youth-led policy advocacy in Africa: A qualitative analysis of Generation Z's mobilization efforts against fiscal legislation in Kenya and its implications for democratic governance in the continent. International Journal of Innovative Scientific Research, 2(3), 1-22.

Omwoha, J. (2022). Open the servers. Africa Development/Afrique et Développement, 47(2), 147-160.

https://doi.org/10.57054/ad.v47i2.2203

Paradigm Initiative. (2022, August 4). Pan-African digital rights bodies laud Kenya government's decision not to shut down the internet. Paradigm Initiative.

Paul, J., & Kaurav, R. P. S. (2025). Research methods in a nutshell: What, why, when, where, who, and how? International Journal of Consumer Studies, 49(6), Article e70134. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijcs.70134

Roy, A. (2025). The digital divide: Exploring inequalities in media access and its implications for democratic participation. Journal of Media Reflections and Communication Studies, 1(1), 1-14.

Saaka, S. S., & Saaka, S. A. (2026). Disinformation, security politics, and legislative outcomes in Africa. African Security Review, 35(3), 275-294. https://doi.org/10.1080/10246029.2025.2590538

Sakpa, D. (2020). Tanzania restricts social media during elections. DW.

Schwoerer, K. (2025). Designing with end-users in mind: Principles and practices for accessible, usable, and inclusive open government platforms. In Research handbook on open government (pp. 239-252). Edward Elgar Publishing. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781035301652.00025

Sharma, S., Kar, A. K., Gupta, M. P., Dwivedi, Y. K., & Janssen, M. (2022). Digital citizen empowerment: A systematic literature review of theories and development models. Information Technology for Development, 28(4). https://doi.org/10.1080/02681102.2022.2046533

Stubbs, A. (2023). Digital participatory democracy: A normative framework for the democratic governance of the digital commons. Journal of Social Philosophy, 54(3), 385-403. https://doi.org/10.1111/josp.12489

Tenove, C. (2020). Protecting democracy from disinformation: Normative threats and policy responses. The International Journal of Press/Politics, 25(3), 517-537. https://doi.org/10.1177/1940161220918740

Twinomurinzi, H. (2024). From tweets to streets: How Kenya's Generation Z (Gen Z) is redefining political and digital activism. African Conference on Information Systems and Technology, 13.

van Eeuwijk, P., & Angehrn, Z. (2017). How to conduct a focus group discussion (FGD): Methodological manual. University of Basel. https://doi.org/10.5167/uzh-150640

Watson, A., & Habte, F. (2024, July 9). Digital threats to elections: Learning from what has worked in Africa. Global Public Policy Institute.

Yarchi, M., Baden, C., & Kligler-Vilenchik, N. (2020). Political polarization on the digital sphere: A cross-platform, over-time analysis of interactional, positional, and affective polarization on social media. Political Communication, 38(1-2), 98-139. https://doi.org/10.1080/10584609.2020.1785067