Between Two Extremes: Responding to Islamist and tribalist messaging online in Kenya during the 2017 elections
Authors: Anisa Harrasy and Zahed Amanullah
Published: February 2018
This report reviews the state of extremist discourse and propaganda techniques used across the Kenyan social media landscape and share the results of a 16-month long study conducted to understand the capacity of Kenyan community service organisations (CSOs) to adapt to this changing landscape.
With the assistance of Google/YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter, ISD helped train over twenty peacebuilding CSOs in online counter-narrative creation, in both Swahili and English. The aim of this training was to equip CSOs with the tools and skills to compete effectively with those trying to promote extremism and division online. We shared techniques for targeting, distributing, and evaluating the content, looking at ways to maximise reach, engagement, and impact.