The Media Council of Kenya (MCK) has raised fresh concerns over a sharp rise in fake news, manipulated content and coordinated misinformation campaigns spreading across digital platforms. In a public advisory issued on Thursday, the regulator said it had identified numerous anonymous accounts and unaccredited online pages that are systematically pushing fabricated material designed to mislead the public.
According to MCK, these platforms routinely publish sensational but false headlines, doctored photographs, invented quotations and partisan narratives. Many also imitate the logos and branding of legitimate media houses, a violation the council says breaches copyright law and the Code of Conduct for Media Practice.
The council noted that the content released by such accounts serves no public interest and is often crafted to attack institutions, undermine public officers and distort national discourse. It warned that the escalation of manipulated content poses a serious threat to the credibility of genuine journalism and weakens public trust in reliable information sources.
MCK urged Kenyans to exercise caution when consuming or sharing information from unverified digital platforms and advised the public to cross-check any suspicious content. The regulator also pledged to expand its fact-checking operations to identify and neutralise false narratives in real time.
Due to limits in its jurisdiction over anonymous and non-accredited online entities, MCK said it has formally referred the matter to the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA). The council wants the CA to investigate the ownership and operations of the offending pages and exercise its statutory mandate, including taking down pages found to be violating the law.
The regulator reminded digital publishers and content creators that manipulating images, publishing unverified claims and failing to issue corrections violate key provisions of the MCK Act, 2013, which requires media practitioners to uphold accuracy, fairness and accountability.
MCK warned that the systematic nature of the violations now threatens Kenya’s information ecosystem, stressing the need for coordinated action to safeguard the integrity of journalism and protect the public from misleading content.
 has raised fresh concerns over a sharp rise in fake news, manipulated content and coordinated misinformation campaigns spreading across digital platforms. In a public advisory issued on Thursday, the regulator said it had identified numerous anonymous accounts and unaccredited online pages that are systematically pushing fabricated material designed to mislead the public.){kind=link}