Inside Kenya’s Dirty Campaign Playbook: How Politicians Pay to Tarnish Rivals Through the Media

Kenya’s election seasons are often accompanied by a parallel, largely unseen war, one fought not on rallies and manifestos, but through headlines, hashtags, and whisper campaigns engineered to damage rivals.

Over decades, politicians and their operatives have quietly perfected a playbook that weaponises both mainstream and digital media, turning information into a paid-for political tool.

This practice did not begin online.

In the 1990s and early 2000s, political propaganda relied on anonymous pamphlets, roadside posters, and poorly printed newsletters sold cheaply in city centres.

As private media expanded and advertising competition intensified, political messaging began to creep into editorial spaces, blurring the line between journalism and paid political interests.

Former electoral officials and media insiders have since documented how these tactics professionalised over time.

In his autobiography, a former electoral commission chief detailed the existence of informal “rate cards” in newsrooms, outlining how much political actors paid for sound bites, prime-time bulletin mentions, or prominent front-page placement.

He explained, “A partisan, unethical and unprofessional media can be used and misused by politicians to undermine an EMB (Electoral Management Body) and its head for their political ends. Newspapers headlines are sometimes alleged to have been bought or paid for while in some cases stories are sensationalized or killed depending on who is paying for it.”

By the last two election cycles, however, the battleground had decisively shifted online.

From Newsrooms to Newsfeeds

Social media platforms such as X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, TikTok, and WhatsApp have become the primary vehicles for political attacks.

Their speed, reach, and low cost make them ideal for spreading damaging narratives before fact-checkers or regulators can respond.

Campaigns now assemble coordinated teams of bloggers and influencers, often referred to as “keyboard armies,” tasked with pushing specific talking points against opponents.

These influencers operate on contracts that range from short-term hashtag campaigns to monthly retainers.

Nick, a freelance writer and aspiring social media influencer from Nairobi, explains the visibility of these campaigns: “People will know that you are pushing a hashtag, everyone on Twitter knows you are being paid to do it for a politician. But politicians wouldn’t acknowledge publicly that they have paid an influencer to spread campaign messages. They try to make it look like they have nothing to do with it.”

High-profile accounts with large followings command premium fees, while hundreds of smaller accounts are paid modest sums to amplify content, ensuring negative narratives dominate timelines and group chats.

“It’s a huge activity. During the political season billions exchange hands,” says Gordon Opiyo, a long-time political consultant.

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Manufacturing Public Opinion

WhatsApp groups serve as command centres where operatives distribute ready-made posts, images, and videos, instructing participants on when and how to post to make hashtags trend.

“If you see content with a hashtag you know the end game is to make the hashtag trend,” says Brian Obilo, who has researched these networks for the Mozilla Foundation in Kenya.

He adds, “They may claim the tags are used to mobilise supporters, but if you look at accounts driving the tags, you’ll see the accounts are complicit with spreading disinformation online. You’ll know someone is bankrolling it.”

Fake and duplicate accounts further inflate these campaigns.

Automated bots and anonymous profiles retweet, like, and comment in large volumes, drowning out dissenting voices and intimidating genuine users into silence.

Some digital strategists advise paying top influencers to discuss certain topics over a week rather than relying on short-lived hashtag pushes.

“For politicians, they see that organic conversations are powerful because they look not paid for, but in fact they are. It’s all about perception,” says Abraham Mutai, who has advised political campaigns on influence operations.

The Media Is Not Immune

Despite the digital shift, mainstream media remains part of the ecosystem.

Ownership interests, political affiliations of proprietors, and government pressure have at times influenced editorial choices.

Journalists describe nuanced forms of censorship, where certain candidates receive reduced coverage or consistently negative framing, particularly on state-affiliated platforms.

Hassan, a former electoral chief, reflected on this phenomenon during Kenya’s 2007/2008 elections: “Just like the ECK before in 2007/2008, we were subjected to vicious and unfair trial by media and condemned unheard. They took up the case of ousting the IEBC Commissioners as if the opposition had outsourced them to do so.”

The digital era has also introduced sophisticated content fabrication.

Fake news reports designed to mimic international broadcasters, doctored images, fabricated letters, and, more recently, AI-generated audio and video clips have circulated widely, often shared faster than they can be refuted.

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Consequences and Countermeasures

The cumulative impact of these tactics has been profound.

Public trust in media has eroded, political polarisation has deepened, and misinformation has heightened tensions in a country with a history of election-related violence.

While laws such as the Computer Misuse and Cyber Crimes Act criminalise false publications intended to discredit individuals, enforcement has been uneven and at times controversial.

Independent fact-checking organisations continue to refute viral falsehoods, and the Media Council of Kenya has updated its Code of Conduct to address misinformation.

Yet the dirty campaign ecosystem persists, fuelled by money, weak accountability, and a highly factional political culture.

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Compilation of Top Social Media Platforms. PHOTO/ Courtesy.