In the 2022 Kenya General Elections, social media platforms were widely used for campaigns. Content creators and social media managers on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and X (formerly twitter) engaged audiences in support for their preferred candidates.
Today, these same platforms serve as powerful tools for people to agitate for their rights. Information, whether protected or not, is spread rapidly, which sometimes stirs people into action. Activism is no longer a preserve of a select few.
Virtual meetings are held on these platforms with the aim to educate and exchange ideas on national issues. People are more connected than ever, with the world literally at our fingertips.
Although there is still no clear roadmap for this demographic, the youth can no-longer be dismissed as “keyboard warriors”. They have successfully used social media to mobilise and organise physical protests.
Through social media, they organised protests against the Finance Bill 2024, forcing President William Ruto to veto the Bill. Similarly, public outrage on social media was a catalyst that drew opposition to the Adani Jomo Kenyatta International Airport takeover deal which led to its cancellation.
These examples highlight how digital advocacy can snowball issues into public policy agendas, demonstrating its potential to contribute to socio-economic reform.
But it can also lead to worse outcomes as illustrated by the Arab spring which was a wave of protests started in Tunisia and spread to the wider North Africa and the Middle East.
Protestors used tweets and Facebook events to draw millions into their movement. The protests led to political instability and socio-economic deprivation of young adults, especially women.
It is without doubt that digital activism, like other forms of advocacy, is a crucial tool in the push for political, economic and environmental reforms. Peaceful activism should be the foundation of any protests in a democracy and so should be the case for digital activism.
According to Bill Moyer’s Movement action plan, activism falls into the following categories: citizen, rebel, change agent and reformer social movements. This implies that, to drive meaningful reforms, digital activists must demonstrate responsibility by upholding the fundamental principles enshrined in the Constitution and respecting societal norms, thereby earning recognition as responsible citizens.
Digital activists must remain steadfast in rejecting practices that undermine their values and principles, confidently saying 'NO,' even if it means being perceived as rebellious.
Change agents focus on educating, organising, and mobilising the public against unfavourable public policies, while reformers work within political and judicial systems to integrate solutions into public policies and law respectively.
To achieve desired outcomes activists need the skill to sneak in their agendas in the heat of public interest on an issue. This implies that the atmosphere should remain orderly both in online activism and during physical protests.
Recently, social media platforms in Kenya have been awash with provocative content, often conveyed through silhouettes and cartoons, portraying leaders in bad light. This has raised questions in regard to the moral and legal limits of free speech. Chapter four of the Kenyan Constitution 2010 on the Bill of Rights and Article 34 outlines the freedoms of expression, including the freedom of artistic creativity.
Nonetheless, these freedoms of expression do not extend to propaganda for war, incitement to violence, hate speech, or advocacy of hatred that is vilification of others or incitement to cause harm.
Determining whether a particular speech deserves censorship, or not remains challenging. Striking a balance between free speech and necessary censorship is a delicate task.
Free speech on social media may at times lead to negative behaviours, such as cyberbullying or spread of hate speech. On the other hand, suppression of free speech on media might not achieve positive outcomes.
Both approaches have consequences. Universally accepted values, such as safety and privacy, remain the guiding principles in the use of social media. How then can the rights of the person subjected to slander be protected? Certainly, abductions of young Kenyans is wrong.
