MCK to assist Bloggers to come up with code of conduct to help tackling fake news.

 Media Council of Kenya Chief Executive Officer David Omwoyo addressing Feed-back Forum
in Nairobi today about a research study findings by the Association of Media Women in Kenya{AMWIK} on Fake News Project.The council is working towards assisting bloggers to come up with a code of conduct to help them minimize fake news-Photo By Dickson Odhiambo

 By Dickson Odhiambo.

June 13, 2019.

MCK to assist Bloggers to come up with code of conduct to help tackling fake news.

The Media Council of Kenya has said it is working towards assisting bloggers across the country come up with a code of conduct which will help them in tackling the issue of fake news.

The Council’s Chief Executive Officer David Omwoyo says, they seek to engage bloggers across the country through the Kenya Bloggers Association so as to assist them come up with a code of conduct in combating fake news.

Addressing participants during a feedback forum in Nairobi about a research study findings by the Association of Media Women in Kenya{AMWIK} on Fake News Project, Omwoyo said by assisting bloggers to come up with their code of conduct, it will help in minimizing the spread of fake news.

 “The purveyors of fake news have become complicated hence the need to do a lot of verification of news before being published or broadcasted,” Omwoyo says.

The Media Council of Kenya boss says the biggest challenge of fake news is that people are quick to objectify women when it comes to the issue of fake news terming it as a very dangerous scenario, adding that it is important not to deviate issues.

“We must therefore establish reliability of the news and do a lot of fact-checking. We should not allow the objectification of women when the issue of fake news is there and only address the issue at hand,” Omwoyo said.

Omwoyo has urged the media houses across the country not to engage in the issue of spreading fake news, adding that they need to do a lot of fact-checking on the issue of news gathering.

He further urges the media fraternity so as to re-build reliable brands and never to rely on those purveying fake news.

Executive Director of the Association of Media Women in Kenya Marceline Nyambala, an organization that has conducted a baseline survey on the impact of fake news on women in politics and media in Kenya with 2017 General Election as a case study, says one of the findings is that the perpetrators of fake news take advantage of the social media to spread fake news.

UNESCO Representative John Bosco Mayiga says media organizations should be part of combating misinformation.

He adds that the media should strengthen both professional and ethical skills in news rooms so as to help in combating fake news.

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