Media warns: Information gaps fuel 2027 disinformation risk

Journalists urge government agencies to open access to official records before the election cycle deepens

By James Mwangi

Kenyan media practitioners have called on government agencies to close critical gaps in access to official information, warning that bureaucratic delays and the absence of authoritative public records are creating fertile ground for misinformation ahead of the 2027 general election.

The journalists argued that when official information is withheld, delayed or simply unavailable, unverified content fills the void — and in an election cycle, that void can be dangerous. The warning comes as Kenya’s information environment grows increasingly contested, with social media platforms accelerating the spread of unverified claims faster than newsrooms or regulators can respond.

Practitioners pointed to a pattern in which government agencies either fail to respond to press queries within reasonable timeframes or maintain no accessible public records at all, leaving journalists with little choice but to rely on unofficial and sometimes unreliable sources. The result, they argued, is a weakened press that struggles to perform its most essential democratic function: providing citizens with accurate, verified information on which to base political decisions.

The call is directed not only at national government ministries but also at county agencies, regulatory bodies and security institutions, where information access remains inconsistent and largely discretionary.

With the 2027 election campaign environment already taking shape, practitioners warned that the window to address these gaps is narrowing — and that the cost of inaction will ultimately be paid by the public.

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