Exploring Kenyans’ interactions with misinformation on WhatsApp

Abstract

The abundance of misinformation spreading online has precipitated a need to investigate experiences with misinformation in more closed spaces like those found on WhatsApp. Based on interviews with Kenyan adults, this study examines participants’ perceptions of misinformation circulated on WhatsApp and its potential consequences, interactions with misinformation, and decision-making. Findings indicate that participants perceive sharing misinformation on WhatsApp as a means of telling others about what is happening around them. Participants acknowledged the dangers of misinformation spread on WhatsApp but were wary of correcting it because of family and friend dynamics; they were afraid of humiliation or embarrassment; they assumed that the information had not spread to too many others; and they perceived some misinformation as harmless memes.