By Thuothuo Anthony
The CEO of Kenya Film Classification Board (KFCB), Mr. Ezekiel Mutua announced on Wednesday that his administration is proposing a new law that will prevent people from using phony names on Facebook.
Mutua said that the proposed law will cripple the phantom sources of fake news on the internet.
“To deal with the specter of fake news, we are proposing a law that will bar people from using fake names and pseudonym. If you are not into any mischief why do you want to have a fake Facebook account?” he said.
Fake news blogs have proliferated in recent years, costing governments, businesses, and celebrities their reputation, especially when the stories are difficult to authenticate.
Last month, a Ghanaian-based blogger posted a fake story claiming that a renown Kenyan comedian had died in a tragic car crash. The blogger, whom Jamhuri News was able to track to Kumasi-Ghana through legal experts, had copied an obituary article from Jamhuri News website where a Massachusetts man had died in a Westford road accident and changed the names to those of the comedian. It was also determined that the blog registrar is a prominent evangelist in Ghana, with over 129,000 followers on his evangelism facebook page, but also operates an underground cluster of fake news blogs. They have since deleted the article after being ordered to.
Internet experts say that fake news played a major role in marshaling voters in 2016 presidential elections in the USA.
Mr. Mutua said that if one must provide his real personal identifying details to open a financial account such as M-Pesa, then people should openly operate social media accounts without anonymity.
”If you are not into any mischief, why do you want to have a fake facebook account? If you must give your true identity to open an M-Pesa account, why should you hide behind anonymity to operate a facebook account to insult people or spread falsehoods?” Said Mutua.
Mr. Mutua’s proposal attracted divided public opinion from netizens.
”One of the rare times I agree with you.” commented Tom Amadi on Mutua’s post on Facebook.
”Waste of time and energy” Anwenyi Gichana said