The Media Council of Kenya (MCK) has cautioned as fake notice to media warning them against sensational and inflammatory reporting.
In the fake notice signed by the MCK Registrar of Complaints Commission, Eric Ngaria had allegedly signed a warning that was said to have specifically been sent to the Standard Group for sensational headlines threatening censure.
“MCK reminds all media practitioners that press freedom comes with a duty to report accurately, fairly and responsibly. Recent patterns of unverified claims and provocative headlines have raised concerns about ethical violations in political and economic reporting” the fake notice read.
Apart from that, the notice issued three directives to all media houses to maintain professional standards.
Therefore, media houses were urged to ensure that the backed their claims before reporting, avoid sensational headlines and balance political coverage to prevent bias and manipulation.
The document that reportedly circulated on social media accounts raised concerns as it bore the MCK Logo but had several spelling mistakes.
This followed concerns raised online by Kenyans regarding news headlines, particularly on the front pages of local dailies.
Among the headlines that caused a stir online was once by Sunday Nation that stated Raila Odinga has saved President William Ruto from military coup during the June 2024 protests.
“Raila: I saved Ruto from military coup” the headline read.
