Old footage used in fake livestreams of Kenyan protests

Published on July 21, 2023 at 13:14
5 min read
By Mary KULUNDU, AFP Kenya

Amid rolling protests against tax hikes in Kenya, some Facebook and YouTube accounts have been claiming to offer livestreams of the anti-government demonstrations as they were happening. In some cases, however, videos of old protests played on a loop have been passed off as live footage, duping viewers into thinking they were watching current events.

Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga called for three straight days of protests each week starting on July 19, 2023 to oppose President William Ruto’s government, which he says is illegitimate and to blame for a cost-of-living crisis in the country.

The first day of the back-to-back protests was more muted than other anti-government demonstrations in previous months. Cities like the capital Nairobi remained largely deserted, with shops shuttered for fear of looting.

Still, at least two people were killed and more than 300 were arrested across the country (archived here).

On the day, at around 7 am in Kenya, YouTube channel Mutembei TV started what it called a live broadcast titled: “Live- Raila Odinga and Uhuru Kenyatta leads official maandamano in Nairobi”. The Swahili word “maandamano” means “protest”.

The footage showed angry crowds protesting in different parts of Nairobi. Marchers chanted “Ruto must go” while praising the president’s arch-rival, Odinga.

Thousands tuned in to watch. But in the comment sections, viewers were curious about the location of the protests, asking if the broadcast was actually live.

A screenshot of the fake livestream, taken on July 20, 2023 ( Mary KULUNDU)

AFP Fact Check played the purported livestream, which was on air for more than 11 hours. Many of the scenes actually showed old protests and were played on a loop.

For instance, at one hour and 22 seconds into the stream, and then again at just over five hours and five minutes, we noticed the same footage of protesters carrying a white printed banner passing beside a green matatu minibus. We also spotted the same hand of a person filming using a phone mounted on a selfie stick.

Screenshots showing the same footage repeated at different points in the fake livestream

We searched for the keyword “protests” on the YouTube channel and found that a similar video of the same protest – captured from a different angle – was uploaded four months ago (archived link).

Two minutes into this original video, we can see a school bus branded “Fadhili school” passing beside the protesting crowd, and ahead of it is a yellow wall. The same scene is seen in the purported live stream.

Screenshots showing the Fadhili school bus appearing in the old video, left, and the alleged livestream

Also, the same protesters holding the same banners can be spotted in both videos.

Screenshots showing the same individuals protesting in the old video, left, and the livestream

Facebook “live”

On Facebook, a page called “Swift Media Ke News” also shared an alleged livestream of the July 19 protests, attracting more than 800,000 views.

“Raila Odinga leads countrywide Azimio protests from Kamukunji grounds! Maandamano Wednesday,” reads the caption.

The broadcast, which ran for more than seven hours, featured multiple videos, including clips of protesters following Odinga’s convoy.

In the clip, we see Odinga addressing his followers before they are dispersed by police firing tear gas canisters.

Screenshot of the misleading Facebook live, taken on July 20, 2023

But this footage is old.

For starters, Odinga did not show up for the July 19 protests. He gave an exclusive interview to NTV the next day, explaining he had been sick with flu (archived here).

AFP Fact Check determined the clip in the livestream dates back to March 27, 2023, when Odinga led protesters in an earlier demonstration. Local media reported on the event here and here (archived here and here) and the official Facebook page of Odinga’s coalition party, Azimio, also featured a live broadcast.

Fake livestream trend

This is not the first time fake livestreams have been used to mislead viewers.

In 2020, at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, AFP Fact Check debunked Facebook livestreams that purportedly showed a looting spree in Mexico prompted by panic over the novel coronavirus. This footage was in fact filmed years before and played on a loop.

According to Kenyan digital communication specialist Safina Okumu, livestreams, whether fake or not, are often used to attract a social media following.

“Going live can be one of the tactics used to grow a social media page since the content will be relevant and in the case of maandamano have lots of public interest,” Okumu told AFP Fact Check.

According to Meta, the company that owns Facebook, live videos attract six times as many interactions as regular videos (archived here).

Okumu said there is no way to monitor whether supposedly live broadcasts are pre-recorded.

“Some people do looped videos and share them as ‘lives’ so there is the likelihood of sharing an old video as a current live,” she noted.

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