By Calvin Rock and Tracy Anne Bonareri
On July 8, a topic began trending on X, quickly rising to the top, in the process sparking controversy online. The hashtag #GayZ, a play on Gen Z – the generation now associated with widespread anti-government demonstrations that initially started with calls to withdraw the 2024 Finance Bill. This trend appeared alongside “LGBTQ Kanairo” and “Right2Kiss,” amassing over 15,000 posts.
The posts with this hashtag included fabricated digital cards from various newsrooms suggesting that the Gen Z protests were focused on advancing LGBTQIA+ agenda rather than opposing the Finance Bill. Many of the posts featured AI-generated images depicting same-sex interactions, with pro-LGBT imagery including the rainbow flag prominently displayed.
The generation that arm-twisted a president
On June 18, as Parliament was preparing to present the Finance Bill 2024 for the second reading, demonstrations erupted over the bill which was considered by many to be proposing punitive taxes among other contentious issues. Two days later, on June 20, the National Assembly passed the bill amid protests. On June 25, following the sailing through of the bill, the protests intensified and spread to various parts of the country.
In the backdrop of the unpopular Finance Bill that seemed geared towards making an already difficult economic situation worse, many sections of the society came out to support the Gen Z demonstrations. Notably, the church, which has often played a crucial role in shaping opinion, and whose influence in the corridors of power is significant, came out strongly in support of the demonstrations, urging the government to listen. This may have been seen in some quarters as Ruto’s fall from grace and an apparent shift in the previously cozy relationship he enjoyed with the church.
It is likely that this could be the reason why the ‘Gay Z’ campaign was created and advanced, with the probable goal being to negatively alter people’s perception of this movement and its champions.
Our investigation found that the LGBTQIA+ narrative was being pushed way before this particular campaign. On June 24, 2024, a day before the historic #OccupyParliament protests, various users on X encouraged members of the LGBTQIA+ community to bring “Pride” flags to the protest to “attract the attention of Western countries.”
Posts with LGBTQIA+ innuendos, archived here, here, here, here, and here, sparked discussions online. Some bloggers speculated that the community was leveraging the protests against the Finance Bill to advance their agenda. However, many users rejected these calls, insisting that carrying LGBTQIA+ flags might dilute the movement’s message. They emphasized unity, urging everyone, including those identifying as LGBTQIA+, to carry Kenyan flags to symbolize that they are all part of the same nation.
Patterns of Coordination Identified.
Piga Firimbi’s investigations found that the entire “GayZ” and “LGBTQ Kanairo” trends were inauthentic and coordinated to drive a certain agenda. While these narratives found their way into the top trends in Kenya, it was strange that there did not seem to be any merit to these comments. Anyone who saw the digital cards from Kenyans.co.ke, Nation, Citizen, and The Standard could have believed that they were legitimate, except for the lack of backing evidence – there were no such stories to these. None of the implicated news outlets had shared any of the digital cards being posted alongside the hashtag, and they also did not show up on the official social media platforms of these media houses where such graphics are usually shared. One particular purported digital card which stated “church criticizes Gen Z for homosexual behaviour in protests” was a dead giveaway of the intention of this campaign. Another, with Nation Media Group branding, absurdly accuses Amnesty International of advocating for Gen Z’s right to kiss at Nairobi protests.
Piga Firimbi investigated the posts and uncovered some of the accounts behind the campaign, identifying 15 such accounts on X that collectively amassed over 1.65 million views, over 50% of which (860 thousand views) were generated by the suspect accounts, one of the hallmarks of a coordinated campaign. The hashtag #GayZ was trending between July 8 and 19, first being shared by the account Mr. Make It Done (archived here) on July 8 at 6:35 AM. This account was also the first to use the phrase “LGBTQ Kanairo” in the same post.
The most engagement was driven by @ItsMathatwa, @KwaniShiiNgapi and @AfricMumke_. Other accounts that propagated this narrative were Kemunto, Joan, Sharmo, Amazing Kisii, Florence Etuku Macaphena, Captive Society, Arap Limo, No Mans Land, Thee Donne, Mary, Sam, and Princess.
Notably, at least half of these accounts had generic names like No Man’s Land, Amazing Kisii, Mr. Make it Done, and Captive Society, likely to obscure the identities of the people behind them. These accounts were identified as driving the trending hashtags #GayZ, #LGBTQKanairo, and #Right2Kiss, with each account averaging 44 posts. The most active account, @Prettyqueen_21, posted 108 times, while the least active, @daphyso, posted 9 times. The goal was to create the impression of Gen Z’s support for the LGBTQIA+ community.
A network diagram showing how the suspect accounts are linked – the links infer re-posting or replying to posts by the connected account.
While promoting the ‘Gay Z’, ‘LGBTQ Kanairo’ and ‘Right2Kiss’ (also shared as Right to Kiss) narratives, these accounts exhibited the same coordination they use in promoting other narratives. The accounts are essentially an echo chamber publishing a certain number of posts, then resharing and replying to each other’s post or even their own post, and banking on unwitting republishers to generate traffic. Glaringly, the accounts trade allegations generously without a shred of evidence, typical of disinformation campaigns intended to drive a given agenda.
Piga Firimbi reached out to Ivy Werimba, Communications and Advocacy Officer at galck+, an umbrella body representing LGBTQIA+ voices in Kenya.
“Combating misinformation is a complex and ongoing process”, Werimba said, highlighting the challenges of addressing mis- and disinformation targeting sexual minorities, adding, “We have been actively training people to recognize and counter false information. Our organization primarily issues statements and works with allies to challenge misleading narratives. Although we conduct campaigns to debunk myths, changing public perception is challenging, especially when influential leaders perpetuate these falsehoods. Despite our efforts, many people continue to embrace these narratives.”
Reading from the Same script?
This is not the first instance of coordinated campaigns involving the aforementioned accounts that we have observed recently. On June 29, twelve out of the sixteen accounts participated in a campaign using the hashtag #TruthlessMan, which appeared to mock Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua’s claim of ‘being a truthful man.’ The campaign alleged that Gachagua and former President Uhuru Kenyatta were complicit in the protests, while also alleging that Russia was also involved.
Similarly, on June 30, just a day after the #TruthlessMan campaign, 12 of these accounts – 10 of which also participated in the #Truthless Man campaign – pushed another campaign using the hashtag Enemies of The State (#EnemiesofTheState). This time, this campaign leveled accusations at Chief Justice emeritus, Willy Mutunga, and Nyeri Governor, Mutahi Kahiga (a known ally of the deputy president), blaming them for “unrest”. This was carried alongside a sustained attack on Gachagua, accusing him of being “divisive” and “fostering tribalism” while deriding his “one man, one shilling” stance. It is suspicious that 12 of 16 accounts that orchestrated the Gay Z campaign were also part of two other disinformation campaigns.
The #GayZ campaign bears striking similarities to a previous investigation by Piga Firimbi into a government-sponsored effort to blame the fake fertilizer scandal on the administration of Uhuru Kenyatta, specifically on former Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Peter Munya. It leaves little to the imagination as to what the agenda of these accounts is – they always seem to be promoting a pro-government agenda and posting mostly using coordinated hashtags rather than organic engagement. These accounts have published posts with hashtags like #RutoOurPresident, #YoungTurksLegacy, #YouthVoicesHeard, #DialogueIsHappening, #GenZEngaging, and #LetsGiveDialogueAChance, all closely aligned to the government’s call for dialogue and end to demonstrations. Additionally, the precision of the language used by these accounts to spread disinformation claiming that the protests had a pro-LGBTQIA+ agenda raises further suspicion.
Disinformation Campaign Extends to Uganda.
The narrative suggesting that the protests aim to advance a pro-LGBTQIA+ agenda also crossed into neighboring Uganda, where protests were planned for July 23, 2024. Originally, the Ugandan movement aimed to demand the resignation of Speaker Anita Annet Among, and address corruption. The campaign was initiated with hashtags like #March2Parliament, #StopCorruption, and #AnitaMustResign. However, the introduction of LGBTQIA+ narratives into conversations on Ugandan social media mirrors the situation in Kenya. New hashtags such as #UgandaIsNotKenya and #FightForGayRights appear to be spreading disinformation in a bid to shift the focus of the protests, employing tactics reminiscent of those seen in Kenya.
The disinformation circulating under these hashtags allege that the head of Uganda’s National Unity Platform, Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, also known as Bobi Wine, is receiving funding to advance the LGBTQIA+ agenda in Uganda. This accusation is particularly alarming given Uganda’s recent enforcement of the Anti-Homosexuality Act on April 3, 2024. The law, which was initially passed in March 2023, criminalizes consensual same-sex conduct with severe penalties, including life imprisonment and the death penalty for ‘aggravated homosexuality.’ Werimba of galck+ emphasizes that such allegations could seriously jeopardize an individual’s safety.
“It may seem like these conversations are limited to the online world, but they often escalate into harassment and account trolling, even leading to doxxing. This situation becomes so severe that some individuals consider relocating because they no longer feel safe in their own homes. While it might appear to be just words, the reality is that these actions have significant real-life impacts on people.” Werimba adds further.
An example is this post allegedly showing properties owned by Bobi Wine and his wife in the US, allegedly purchased with ‘LGBTQIA+ money.’
However, a Google reverse image search on the images reveals the first image is of the China Records Museum, the second is of the Bagua (Trigram) Building on Gulangyu Island in Xiamen, southeast China’s Fujian Province, and the third is of the Gulangyu Piano Museum in China. None of these images are from the U.S. as claimed; they are all tourist attractions in China and have no connection to Bobi Wine.
Another claim features a doctored image of Bobi Wine next to a banner with the rainbow flag associated with the LGBTQIA+ community. Piga Firimbi has debunked this claim, citing a post on Bobi Wine’s official X account where he rejected the allegations and urged the public to ignore the propaganda.
More disinformation also emerged from recent claims made by Kenya’s President William Ruto. On July 15, 2024, while addressing the public in Nakuru County, Ruto accused the Ford Foundation of funding the protests. These were mere allegations, as the head of state did not provide irrefutable evidence to support his claims. The Ford Foundation later released a statement dismissing Ruto’s claims. Unfortunately, some Ugandan users on X twisted Ruto’s narrative and are now linking the Ford Foundation and the LGBTQIA+ community to the planned protests in Uganda.
The account cites an article on the Ford Foundation’s website dated June 2, 2022, where the foundation pledged to double its investment in transgender community organizations, and made sweeping commitments to support LGBTQIA+ communities. However, this has no connection to the current protests and highlights how disinformation, especially when spread by influential figures, can impact events in neighboring countries.
The Language.
The language used in this disinformation campaign involving the LGBTQIA+ community is notably different from what we’ve seen in previous campaigns. This time, the perpetrators called for inclusivity in both the campaigns in Kenya and Uganda.
It is important to note that when the campaign started on July 5, 2024, the tone of the messages was not as inclusive. They suggested that Gen Z was being used to ‘propagate the homosexuality agenda.’ However, by July 8, 2024, the tone shifted to applauding Gen Z for their inclusivity and efforts in creating a more ‘tolerant society’ and pushing for broader societal acceptance of LGBTQIA+ rights. This shift appears to be a reverse psychology tactic, as the perpetrators understand that merely mentioning the LGBTQIA+ community in the posts will provoke strong reactions from people.
The coordinated campaign outlined above is clearly designed to divert attention from the key issues being raised in the protests. Kenyans should be cautious and not take everything shared online at face value.
We conclude with Werimba’s call for discernment: “People need to wake up and question why, when there are serious grievances and demands for government accountability, the focus suddenly shifts to discussions about the LGBTQIA+ community. This tactic is intended to exploit emotional issues to distract from the real concerns. By using sexual and gender minorities as scapegoats, those in power aim to avoid accountability. It is crucial to recognize this pattern and not be swayed by divisive narratives. We face the same issues as all Kenyans, and we must stay focused on holding the government accountable, rather than being manipulated by these distractions.”
This article was produced with mentorship from Code for Africa’s (CfA) iLab team, to tackle disinformation that undermines our democracies, as part of CfA’s partner newsroom support initiative. Visit disinfo.africa for more information.
CORRECTION: A previous version of this article referred to galck+ as the Gay And Lesbian Coalition Of Kenya, a name the organization has since stopped using. Any inconvenience is highly regretted.
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