Did fake news save Kenya from an Internet shutdown? Emerging Trends in Tech and Elections in Africa​

untitled 2017-10-03

Summary:

Subtitle

featuring Grace Mutung'u, the 2016/17 OTF Information Controls Fellow at the Berkman Klein Center

Teaser

Technology and elections and the politics of technology​. How use of technology in Kenyan elections is shaping Internet freedom in Africa.

Event Date

Oct 4 2017 12:00pm to Oct 4 2017 12:00pm
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Wednesday, October 4, 2017 at 12:00 pm Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University 23 Everett Street, Second Floor, Conference Room (campus map) RSVP required to attend in person Event will be live webcast on this page at 12:00 pm

Kenya held general elections on August 8, 2017. The presidential election was nullified due to irregularities and is set for a repeat on October 26, 2017. Technology played a key role in the polls at two levels - there was use of tech in aspects such as results transmission and social media was employed massively in political campaigns with propaganda and fake news flowing freely. The talk will explore emerging trends in use of technology in elections and their effect on Internet freedom and what to expect as Kenya gears up for repeat elections.

About Grace

Grace was a 2016/17 OTF Information Controls Fellow at the Berkman Klein Center studying freedom online during election periods in East Africa. She analysed freedom online in the Uganda elections of 2016 and is part of an election observer mission in Kenya's 2017 elections.  
Grace is also an advocate of the High Court of Kenya and an associate at the Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) where she carries out ICT  policy and legal  analysis.  

Links to explore in advance of event

 

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Link:

https://cyber.harvard.edu/events/2017/10/Mutungu

From feeds:

CLS / ROC » Berkman Klein Center

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Authors:

candersen

Date tagged:

10/03/2017, 16:07

Date published:

10/03/2017, 12:00