AI Company Anthropic Exposes How Claude Was Used to Push Political Narratives in Kenya

AI company Anthropic has revealed how its Claude artificial intelligence model was used in a coordinated Kenyan political astroturfing operation designed to make manufactured political messages appear as genuine grassroots opinion.

In a report published on Thursday, September 10, Anthropic said it identified and removed an account operated by a single actor who used the platform to mass-produce political content targeting Kenyan audiences.

"We identified and removed an account that was used by a single actor to mass-produce Kenyan political content. The operation was built to look like spontaneous, grassroots public sentiment," the report read l.

According to Anthropic, the actor repeatedly used Claude to generate large batches of social media posts while specifically instructing the model to make the content appear organic rather than coordinated.

"The actor used Claude across several sessions to generate batches of exactly 50 tweets, explicitly instructing the model to make posts look like spontaneous grassroots commentary rather than a coordinated campaign," the report added.

Anthropic said the operation concentrated on prominent political issues and figures in Kenya, including the debate surrounding electricity tariffs and Energy Cabinet Secretary Opiyo Wandayi.

"The network focused its messaging on key Kenyan political issues and figures. A large portion of the Al-generated tweets praised Energy Cabinet Secretary Opiyo Wandayi for stopping a scheduled Kenya Power electricity tariff hike, using the hashtags #PowerReliefE and #PoweringTheNewKenya to boost visibility," the report further read.

Anthropic also said the operation sought to promote narratives about divisions within the opposition ahead of the 2027 General Election, with former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua and former President Uhuru Kenyatta among those targeted.

"Additionally, the network pushed stories claiming that Kenya's United Opposition coalition was breaking apart before the 2027 general election, directly targeting politicians Rigathi Gachagua and former president Uhuru Kenyatta," the report noted.

Anthropic said the same content-generation process was also used to promote Kenyan retail businesses, with the activity carried out under a marketing persona.

"Separately, the actor ran the identical Al workflow for Kenyan retail brands under a marketing persona, "SHANKI"/"Elkins Marketer." We found no evidence of government involvement, and the activity appears consistent with an entirely domestic Kenyan operation," the report revealed.

Anthropic described the political activity as a highly structured astroturfing campaign, saying the messages were coordinated around the same political narrative and remained confined to a network of fake accounts and local influencers on one platform.

"Our investigation revealed a highly structured political astroturfing effort that pushed identical, unified messages regarding the tariff increase across different conversations. We evaluated the impact of the network using the Breakout Scale and classified it as Category One. 

"The activity was completely isolated within the network of fake accounts and local influences on a single platform, failing to reach or influence any real people," the report indicated.

Anthropic said it had not established the identities of the individuals behind the operation but assessed that it was a locally run Kenyan political campaign. 

The company said the tone and messaging could point to an alignment with the ruling coalition, although it had not identified the organisation responsible.

"While we do not know the exact real-world identity of the people behind this operation, we believe this was a local Kenyan political astroturfing campaign. 

"The network's pro-administration tone and specific hashtags suggest it was plausibly aligned with the ruling coalition, though we have not identified the exact organization responsible," the report indicated.

Elsewhere, this comes months after President William Ruto revealed that Kenya is exploring a partnership with OpenAI that could see Nairobi become home to the first OpenAI Academy in East Africa.

Ruto disclosed the development on Wednesday, June 17, following a meeting with OpenAI Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman on the sidelines of the G7 Leaders’ Summit.

"On the margins of the G7 Leaders’ Summit, I held discussions with OpenAI Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman on opportunities to deepen collaboration in artificial intelligence and digital transformation," he wrote.

According to Ruto, the talks included plans that could position Nairobi as a key center for AI learning and talent development in the region.

"We explored potential collaboration through establishing Nairobi as the home of the first OpenAI Academy initiative in Eastern Africa, expanding AI education, strengthening digital skills, supporting educators and learners, and reinforcing Kenya’s position as a leading hub for AI talent and innovation," he added.

Ruto noted that emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence have the potential to unlock new opportunities for the youth while accelerating innovation and economic growth.

"I underscored the importance of harnessing emerging technologies to create opportunities for young people, drive innovation and ensure Africa plays a meaningful role in shaping the future digital economy," he further said.