Kenyans have been encouraged to report hate speech and lies about the upcoming elections through Twitter via the hashtags #NipeUkweli and #uchaguzi.
Ushahidi co-founder Juliana Rotich today tweeted asking Kenyans to draw attention to behaviour that could cause tensions during the election process, with the polls to take place on Monday.
Kenyans, use the hashtag #NipeUkwelito debunk lies and dangerous speech. Add #uchaguzi tag to report it.
— Juliana Rotich (@afromusing) March 1, 2013
#NipeUkweli is already being used to promote peaceful attitudes and inoffensive speech in the lead up to the elections, and assurances are also being made that organisations are better prepared to stem hate-mongering.
Many calls are directed at the media, asking for hateful behaviour to not be reported and for media institutions to play an active role in ensuring the elections pass peacefully.
The #uchaguzi tag is linked to the Uchaguzi website, which is the incident mapping site dedicated to the 2013 elections – and is similar to the Ushahidi site which sprung up during the post-election violence of 2007.
Individuals from around the country are asked to report incidents of violence and hate speech, as well as peace initiatives – in a bid to make public and record the events that transpire during the election period.
The initiative was applauded globally following the 2007 elections, and has been used since in many crisis situations world-wide to provide a record and mapping service in a variety of situations.
