Social media warfare and Kenya’s conflict with Al Shabaab in Somalia: A right to know?

Abstract

This article explores Kenyan citizens' right to know details about sensitive security-related information in the context of a new era of social media warfare. It considers the public communications response to Al Shabaab's January 2016 attack on Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) personnel in El Adde, Somalia, and then to a similar attack in Kulbiyow a year later. Drawing on Twitter posts, an official account of Kenya's military activities in Somalia, and-unusually for the study of social media-on 'offline' methods of qualitative data collection, it asks why the KDF did not provide real-time updates about the El Adde attack, but did provide information about the assault on Kulbiyow? Three plausible explanations for the KDF's differing response are considered. First, at the time of El Adde, the KDF was inexperienced in terms of social media communication. Second, El Adde taught the KDF that in order not to lose the all-important public opinion, it had to match its enemy and also disseminate credible information. Finally, the strengthening voice of Kenyan citizens and the potential for further reputational damage pushed the KDF from a 'need-to-know' frame of mind in terms of its sharing of information, to more of a 'right-to-know' mentality.

#SomeoneTellCNN: Cosmopolitan militarism in the East African warscape

“…Prior to the invasion, state and military officials acknowledged the importance of nurturing and sustaining public support (Molony, 2018). This is most apparent in the Ministry of Defense publication Operation Linda Nchi: Kenya’s Military Experience in Somalia , released in 2014.…”

“…Military recruitment posters present proud (and noticeably happy) young men and women in uniform, yet these carefully choreographed images are dislocated from actual Kenyans standing on the frontlines of violence and war. It is fitting that the state has actively sought to suppress media coverage not only of the loss of Somali lives, but also equally of attacks on Kenyan troops (Molony, 2018). 71 Cosmopolitan militarism, therefore, cultivates what Talal Asad (2009) refers to as an “etiquette of death dealing” that differentiates between lives that are worthy of grief and those that are not.…”

“… 71. Molony (2018) observes that the Kenyan military has fluctuated in terms of its readiness to disclose information about troop casualties. For additional analysis, see Patrick Gathara, “Covering or covering Up?” Available at: http://gathara.blogspot.com/2016/06/covering-or-covering-up-how-kenyan.html …”

A Data-Driven Framework for Coding the Intent and Extent of Political Tweeting, Disinformation, and Extremism

“…(0.04% of relevant Tweets). 18. Offering Theories about the Origin or Cause of the Coronavirus (1.63% of relevant Tweets).…”