SOCIAL MEDIA AND THE 2013 KENYA GENERAL ELECTIONS

Social Media is almost as powerful as the traditional media such as radio, television and print media in terms of reaching a larger audience. Social Media, from the least common ones like flickr, digg, upcoming, Technorati, MySpace, to the most popular ones like Youtube, Facebook and Twitter were actively used during Kenya’s 2013 elections by various candidates in the bid to relay campaign messages and rally supporters. This study which focuses on the role of social media in Kenya’s 2013 elections and its implications on African elections, highlights effective monitoring bodies such as the Umati and Uchaguzi among other Apps whose main work was to monitor social media platforms against provocative and inflammatory postings with the potential to incite violence.