By Victor Bwire
As the wave of misinformation, harmful content, and the clamor for a clean information sphere grows globally, players in the information space are developing innovative interventions to equip users, especially the youth, with the skills and tools to use and produce media content responsibly.
Increasingly, the largest group using media spaces, particularly digital platforms, is the youth. They are earning income through content monetization, participating in national conversations on key public interest issues, and, more recently, misusing media spaces, leading to conflicts with the law and heavy fines due to defamatory or harmful content. Most of these users are students within the formal education system. Secondary school students sneak phones into schools or use them during weekend entertainment sessions, thus playing a significant role in the information ecosystem.
Consider incidents such as school fires and examination leakages, among other viral content generated by students, and the impact these have had. During holidays, students are given assignments that require the use of phones, tablets, and other internet-connected devices. In the process, they create, curate, and distribute both credible and misleading information.
With advancements in ICT, society is becoming increasingly interconnected, making it easier to share information and resources through media. Furthermore, the growing use of algorithms and Artificial Intelligence is transforming the nature of information creation and distribution, raising questions about freedom and autonomy.
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Youth, including students, use media platforms, both traditional and digital, to create and consume information, which is often manipulated or weaponized around issues such as human rights violations, radicalization, and recruitment into violent extremism. This is not beneficial. For information to be useful in enabling citizens to realize their rights, it must be clean, timely, and accessible, especially in the current environment of information overload.
It is this realization that has led the Media Council of Kenya, in collaboration with various secondary schools, to revitalize journalism clubs. These clubs, which have long existed in schools, now serve as platforms for nurturing communication skills, creativity, and early interest in media practice, as well as promoting media information and digital literacy. They are being used for sensitization forums, town halls, and freedom of expression cafés, where students are taught how to identify, fact-check, and produce credible information that can also generate income. This helps build a culture of integrity in information from an early age.
The Competency-Based Education (CBE) model recognizes Media Technology as a key pathway and underscores the need to formalize journalism clubs. This calls for their recognition and support by stakeholders such as the Ministry of Education and the Media Council of Kenya, to align them with national education priorities and strengthen their role in skills development and career preparation.
Student journalism initiatives have become very popular. With the Media Council of Kenya establishing a framework to mainstream them, they now serve as critical avenues for enhancing students’ understanding of media literacy, journalism principles, and ethics. They also promote critical thinking, creativity in content creation (writing, photography, multimedia), leadership, collaboration, and responsible media consumption and production. Most importantly, they provide a platform for student mentorship.
The Kenyan government has embraced ICT in service delivery. Initiatives such as Huduma Centres, e-government directives, the Digital Literacy Programme, Konza Technopolis, and the e-Citizen portal require citizens to communicate responsibly to fully benefit from these services.
The demand for information integrity and responsible content production and consumption, across both traditional and digital media, is central in addressing the widespread presence of harmful content, including hate speech, disinformation, and foreign information manipulation.
A corrupted information ecosystem has become fertile ground for misinformation and manipulation globally, especially in critical areas such as elections and security. Digital platforms, in particular, have become the main arena where information pollution occurs, and equally, where efforts to promote integrity, accountability, and responsible influence must be focused.
Exposing students to skills and tools for responsible media use can drive entrepreneurship and support the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 12 (sustainable consumption and production) and SDG 16 (peaceful and inclusive societies and access to information).
Schools are also organizing student journalism expos as learning and showcase platforms, rather than competitions, aligned with the CBE model, emphasizing skills development, creativity, and Media Information and Digital Literacy (MIDL).
Together with other interventions such as press clubs and media hubs, media information and digital literacy are emerging as key frontiers in promoting access to credible information, especially as the demand for clean and responsible media content intensifies in the country.
Victor Bwire is the Director, Media Training and Development at the Media Council of Kenya.
