PREVENTING AN INFODEMIC DURING A PANDEMIC:  COVID-19 AND MEDIA PERFORMANCE IN KENYA

In the year 2020, the deadly coronavirus (COVID-19) disease ravaged the entire

world and brought countries and their entire operations to a standstill for almost the

entire year. With no known cure, the only arsenal that countries had to address this

virus was through travel restrictions, social distancing and wearing masks. Against

this background media became an important tool in the fight against the pandemic,

becoming a critical source of information to citizens and medium of communication by

Governments. Kenya recognizes the importance of media in governance. Consequently,

Article 33 of the Constitution guarantees to the media freedom and independence to

enable them collect and disseminate information without any control or hinderance.

This right is particularly important during a pandemic such as COVID-19, where

Governments can be tempted to limit such access. However, in enjoying this right, the

media is expected to ensure that they play a positive role in the process of addressing the

pandemic and not to exacerbate it. The Kenyan media played a catalytic role throughout

the year 2020 as the country grappled with the COVID-19 pandemic and its impacts

on lives and livelihoods, on security and economy and on politics. Against the above

background, the paper seeks to assess how the pandemic affected the realization of media

freedom in Kenya and secondly the performance of the media in reporting about the

pandemic. Did it exercise its rights and freedoms responsibly? What lessons does the

country learn from media’s coverage? How facilitative was the regulatory framework?

The paper argues that media’s role in providing information is essential for addressing

disasters as such it requires to be regulated in a such manner that enables it deliver on

its fundamental mandate without undue restrictions.