Why it easy for public to believe misleading online information

What is the purpose of the prison system at large? Theoretically speaking, we are taught that prisons exist for reform and rehabilitation, with those sentenced to a prison term taking the time there to understand the gravity of their actions and working to change. In reality, however, there might be a deeper part of the human psyche that views the prison as a place where the unwanted of society go to rot away, much like Britain sent off its most hardened criminals to Australia, never to be seen again.

Article 133 of the Constitution grants the President the power of mercy, which allows him to pardon, postpone, or substitute a sentence. It also allows for the creation of an Advisory Committee on the Power of Mercy, comprising the Attorney General, the Cabinet Secretary responsible for correctional services, and at least five other members. This committee currently includes an expert on community integration, an expert on social services and probation, a professor in Peace and Conflict Studies, and religious leaders of various faiths. Last week, the committee recommended the release of 56 Kenyans, 31 who received conditional releases, and 25 were to be discharged upon remission of their nearly completed sentences. All petty offenders were also released.

The news was not received well by the general public, with this information being packaged as the President releasing violent murderers and unrepentant paedophiles back into society. A deeper look at the news, aside from understanding that many of those released would be on  probation and would lighten the load in prison, would also have revealed how the correctional system comes down hardest on the poor of society. One such case is that of Jennifer Wanjiru Ng’ang’a, whom many called a serial killer after learning that she was in prison after she was found guilty of eight counts of murder. But she was not a serial killer. She was simply an illicit brew dealer who had an unfortunate day in business.

Perhaps this is simply a case of rising anti-intellectualism, paired with a general, and highly warranted, lack of trust in the actions of the government. The takeover of social media and seemingly easy access to information, a situation that is only getting worse with the increased use of AI, has made seeking out accurate facts secondary to quick access. Studies show that people no longer click on articles to read in full, relying instead on clickbait, or on AI interpretations of the information that they refuse to take the time to sift through. Often, the results are disastrous, with disinformation being spread rapidly, or AI misinforming the reader due to the fact that it is not, after all, infallible.

In this anti-intellectual age, therefore, and with a government in power that many feel cannot be trusted, it is easy to spread the message “the government is releasing rapists and murderers” and have that message believed on the face of it, with no need to seek deeper understanding. As well, a distaste for those behind bars, and a latent desire to have them rot in prison rather than reform and return to society, can be the only reason why the public does not envisage the reintegration into society of those who have served their time or have been released on probation. Or perhaps, with femicide becoming an epidemic, and one woman dying every 18 hours in the country, it has become impossible to imagine reform as an option where the rot in society is starting to run so deep.

Last week’s incident in Nyeri bears testament to the fact that the ever-rising femicide crisis has hit a critical mass, and that Kenyans are baying for the blood of perpetrators. The rape and murder of little Tamara Blessing had the townspeople protesting outside of the police station where her suspected killer is being held, demanding his release so that they could deal with him themselves. The people clearly do not trust the system that they live in, and no longer believe in the social contract. If the government does not act quickly to quell the lawlessness that has extended so deeply into society and into the government itself, the Shakespearan question of which to favour between justice and mercy will be done away with entirely, and replaced with the law of an eye for an eye.

Ms Gitahi is an international lawyer