FAKE: Kass International didn’t publish this digital card quoting Uasin Gishu governor on the anti-tax protests

Both Governor Jonathan Bii and the news outlet denounced the graphic.

A digital card shared on Facebook purportedly from Kass International quoting Uasin Gishu Governor Jonathan Bii on Kenya’s anti-tax protests in Eldoret is FAKE.

The post accompanying the digital card reads: “Governor Jonathan Bii Uasin Gishu County.”

Featured on the graphic is an image of Governor Bii.

Countrywide protests, including in Eldoret, have rocked Kenya in June 2024, with demonstrators opposing the country’s proposed Finance Bill 2024. Amid the 25 June 2024 protests, the National Assembly passed the bill to its third reading. The country’s generation Zs (Gen-Z) have largely been credited for the ongoing demonstrations.

There is, however, no credible source of evidence that Uasin Gishu’s governor said what is alleged in the claim. We examined the politician’s social media accounts and found posts denouncing the digital card in question.

Bii shared the graphic flagged as “Fake News” by the news outlet’s radio station on his official Facebook page denouncing it.

The post reads, “My administration acknowledges the tremendous potential of our youth and is dedicated to empowering them to make a significant difference in their communities.”

He also shared the image on X (formerly Twitter), terming it “Pure Propaganda.”

Kass FM on the other hand, distanced itself from the digital card, stating: “Be aware of fake news. Kass FM and TV is not the originator or the author of this post.”

To further authenticate the graphic, PesaCheck contacted Kerich Simon, Kass Media’s digital editor, who described it as malicious.

“Kass Media would like to state categorically that the poster in circulation doesn’t belong to our media house. We are going to take legal action against the originator to serve as a lesson to those who have been spreading malicious information,” Kerich said.

PesaCheck has looked into a digital card shared on Facebook, purportedly from Kass International, quoting Uasin Gishu Governor Jonathan Bii on the anti-tax protests in Eldoret and finds it to be FAKE.

Editor’s Note: The previous version of this article contained an erroneous caption accompanying the digital card under verification. The article was updated on 9 July 2024 to include the correct caption. No other changes have been made to the article and the rating remains unchanged.

This post is part of an ongoing series of PesaCheck fact-checks examining content marked as potential misinformation on Facebook and other social media platforms.

By partnering with Facebook and similar social media platforms, third-party fact-checking organisations like PesaCheck are helping to sort fact from fiction. We do this by giving the public deeper insight and context to posts they see in their social media feeds.

Have you spotted what you think is fake or false information on Facebook? Here’s how you can report. And, here’s more information on PesaCheck’s methodology for fact-checking questionable content.

This fact-check was written by PesaCheck fact-checker Peris Gachahi and edited by PesaCheck senior copy editor Mary Mutisya and chief copy editor Stephen Ndegwa.

The article was approved for publication by PesaCheck managing editor Doreen Wainainah.

PesaCheck is East Africa’s first public finance fact-checking initiative. It was co-founded by Catherine Gicheru and Justin Arenstein, and is being incubated by the continent’s largest civic technology and data journalism accelerator: Code for Africa. It seeks to help the public separate fact from fiction in public pronouncements about the numbers that shape our world, with a special emphasis on pronouncements about public finances that shape government’s delivery of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) public services, such as healthcare, rural development and access to water / sanitation. PesaCheck also tests the accuracy of media reportage. To find out more about the project, visit pesacheck.org.