Reset: End of Project Report

28th July 2022

Capturing insights and implications from social listening, focus groups, and radio media monitoring

Table of Contents

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Photo: Unsplash.com - Heidi Fin

Introduction

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Between March and July, 2022 Nendo Limited was contracted by Reset to track and investigate sentiments around gender disinformation and sexual and reproductive health in the Kenyan digital context. Nendo executed this mandate through:

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1. Social listening (utilising Brandwatch, a renowned social listening tool)
2. Radio media monitoring (listening to hours of radio for mentions of women in news and programming)
3. WhatsApp focus group discussions (WFGDs)

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As a result, Nendo produced 5 reports as follows:

• One Gender Disinformation Social Listening Report
• One Digital Landscaping Report
• Two Radio Media Monitoring Reports covering February 22 - March 22, 2022 and May 22 - June 22, 2022
• One WhatsApp Focus Group Discussion Report

This End of Project report provides an overview of the findings that emerged from this study and provides recommendations for future interventions.

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Gender Disinformation Social Listening Objectives & Findings

Gender Disinformation Social Listening - Our Objectives

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Through social listening, Nendo examined and shared a report covering mentions and analysis on the following categories of attacks:

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1. Attacks on qualifications to serve in public office
2. Appearance-based attacks, e.g. mocking women’s appearance, weight, perceived attraction, or manipulating images, or sexualizing women.
3. Emotion-based attacks, e.g. mocking women for emotional displays, not being able to handle emotions during menstruation, apt to anger and outbursts, hormonal.
4. Attacks on “likeability”, e.g. women leaders are expected to be agreeable, relatable, likable by the public and this is often juxtaposed to their male counterpart in a sexist manner.
5. Ethnic and tribal-based attacks that are gendered.
6. “Double bind” / criticism around family responsibilities, e.g. women are judged for not being a good mother, or if without children, being criticized as anti-family, or ones sexual orientation questioned.
7. Sexualised attacks meant to humiliate and demean, particularly through images and memes.
8. Attacks associated with female politicians advocating for SRH.

Gender Disinformation Social Listening - Our Findings

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• Female politicians in Kenya face a wide range of attacks. They are mostly attacked over their way of dressing, their qualifications, and their stands on political matters.
• When female political figures experience crude sexual attacks, they often insinuate that the female politicians are using their bodies to gain attention or they are “showing off” too much as a way of enticing men. These types of attacks take away from the qualifications of female lawmakers and oversimplify their political standing.
• Insults are often used against female legislators, especially those seen to “hold their own”. In these situations, female politicians are labelled as headstrong or difficult.

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• There are a lot of appearance-based attacks, which sideline the qualifications of the female politicians. In this case, a politician could be attacked for either being too feminine or sexual or she could be attacked for not being feminine enough.

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• The qualifications of female politicians are often not considered, despite some of them being veterans in politics. Instead of their qualifications, the women are subjected to scrutiny over their emotions and how this affects their ability to make leadership decisions.

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• Media publications (both mainstream and tabloids) and bloggers hold an influential role in shaping public perceptions about men and women in leadership positions, especially online sites posing as credible sources of information.

Photos: Unsplash.com - Visuals

Radio Media Monitoring of

Anti-SRH and Anti-gender Content

Objectives & Findings

Tracking Anti-SRH Through Radio Media Monitoring - Our Objectives

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Nendo delivered 2 radio media monitoring reports covering the periods from Report 1: 22nd February - 22nd March, 2022 and 6th May - 6th June, 2022. The radio media monitoring reports focused on the radio exploring how anti-SRH and anti-gender content surfaced through scans of hours of radio programming across several popular radio stations.

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In order to formulate these reports, Nendo scanned through 10 radio stations in English, Kiswahili, sheng and vernacular stations. All stations were scanned for general speech (news and programming) that included women and then a spotlight was placed on anti-gender sentiments and how sexual and reproductive health was covered.

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Nendo also assessed the radio trends in order to identify, the types of topics covered by different stations, the type of audience they cater to, and the regions they cater for. The key areas covered in the reports as per the scans were:

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1. Gender disinformation
2. Sexual and reproductive health
3. Female genital mutilation

Tracking Anti-SRH Through Radio Media Monitoring - Our Findings

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Summary of Report 1: 22nd February - 22nd March, 2022

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Throughout the period monitored, these were the key themes that emerged i.e. Marriage & Family, Current Affairs, Economy, Education, and Family planning. The topic of gender disinformation did not arise during the scans. However, one case of a female politician being assaulted was reported in the news of one radio station.

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• Marriage & Family – This theme mostly originated from conversations held on English radio station Classic 105 FM, Kikuyu language station Kameme FM and Swahili speaking station Radio Jambo. Conversations originated from trending topics and questions from listeners via calls and social media. These conversations take on a “call-in show” mechanic focused on entertainment route with callers giving their views on marriage and fidelity broadly.
• Current Affairs & Economy – This theme was mainly on English-speaking Capital FM, with discussions around the high cost of living and the increase in commodity prices following the #LowerFoodPrices. Radio Jambo also had the same conversation.
• Family Planning – This theme came about from talks on Classic 105 FM and sheng language station Ghetto Radio after the male contraceptives was announced in research and development. The discussions saw mainly male listeners calling in to give their views on the male pill.
• Education – This theme was covered during the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) and Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) examination period. Conversations on air included callers’ opinions on how students in the exams would perform. Conversations were held on Classic 105 FM, Luhya language Mulembe FM, Ghetto Radio, and Radio Jambo.
• Women – This theme carried the greatest variety of stories e.g. women in sports, women and men (relationships), women and money, etc.. The reporting in the news and call-in sessions were conducted by Classic 105 FM and Ghetto Radio in particular. The listeners called in to contribute to conversations that originated from the presenters.
• Politics – this theme was covered predominantly by Egesa FM from the Kisii region in the radio scans.

Tracking Anti-SRH Through Radio Media Monitoring - Our Findings

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Summary of Report 2: 6th May - 6th June,, 2022

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Throughout the period monitored, these following themes emerged: Marriage & Family , Current Affairs, Economy and Family planning.

Note: The topic of gender disinformation did not arise during the scans possibly due to the fact that it is difficult for radio stations with editors, sub-editors, and mature infrastructure for journalism to condone and publish false news .

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Below are the key observations:

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• Marriage & Family – This theme mostly originated from conversations held on Classic 105 FM, Kameme FM, Swahili speaking station Radio Citizen and Radio Jambo. Conversations originated from Twitter’s trending topics and questions from listeners via calls and broader social media. The call-in conversations would take on a level of entertainment value aimed at sparking listeners to call and give their opinions on marriage and fidelity.
• Current Affairs & Economy – This theme was mainly on Classic 105 FM, English-speaking Kiss FM, Radio Jambo, and Radio Citizen. Each station held discussions on the high cost of living and the increase in commodity prices following the #LowerFoodPrices debate online.
• Family Planning – This theme came about from talks on Radio Citizen that reported that 20% of men in Kakamega county embraced family planning in 2021. Also Kamba language station Mbaitu FM shared a story on Kitui County’s partnership with Performance Monitoring for Action and the Kenya National Government on a family planning sensitisation campaign.
• Politics- this theme was covered predominantly by Kameme FM discussing the female deputy presidential aspirant Martha Karua and her nomination and influence on politics.

Digital Landscaping

Objectives & Findings

Digital Landscaping Report - Our Objectives

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The objective of this report was to help the Reset team to place the rest of the findings in the current Kenyan technological context. Nendo delivered a Digital Landscaping Report outlining:

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• Key statistics in the realms of mobile phones, social media, and the broader internet
• Gender lens on mobile ownership, mobile internet access, and social media participation
• Local context on social media platforms
• Nendo's interpretation and perspective to guide the project and share any 'future-proof' tips for comms and understanding the landscape

Digital Landscaping Report - Our Findings

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• The Kenyan population is 55.6 million people with 49.7% male and 50.3% female. However, the literacy rate is skewed against the women with 78.1% literacy rate for women and 84.9% for men.
• There is a gender gap in mobile ownership (of 7% difference with more men owning phones) and mobile internet usage (where there’s a 42% gap facing women). This can be taken to mean that Kenya has work to do which means most women have limited access to online opportunities that may empower them.
• There are more basic and feature phones than smartphones in Kenya. However, access on the internet through feature phones in only at 5.9%.
• Kenyans who are active on social media are there predominantly for news, politics and entertainment.
• Videos, and especially short video formats, have gained popularity and embedded themselves in Kenya’s digital ecosystem. TikTok is the fastest growing social network in the country.
• The gender gap continues to be seen in various social media platforms such as YouTube, Instagram and Facebook, where audiences skew male.
• Although there is a gender gap in mobile ownership and mobile internet access, women have still found social media platforms useful for awareness raising and discussing issues that affect them.
• WhatsApp is the most popular and downloaded app in Kenya. It can be considered the ‘default’ smartphone messaging app in the nation.
• The gender disparity in mobile ownership and mobile internet access creates barriers for women and limits their full participation in the digital space.
• On public-by-design platforms like Twitter, the majority of conversations (in some cases 70%) of updates are shared by men. Scrutiny is required when analysing online content to factor this in.
• Video content has gained popularity and offers an opportunity for organisations/brands to use this format as a way of communicating/educating. TikTok in particular opens up unique opportunities to get organic reach.

WhatsApp Focus Group Discussions

Objectives & Findings

Understanding WhatsApp Usage and Behaviour - Our Objectives

Nendo conducted WhatsApp Focus Group Discussions and delivered a report that aimed to help the Reset team:

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• Understand WhatsApp usage and behaviour among our recruited participants.
• Understand the different types of WhatsApp groups people are in and why they are in these groups.
• Explore and understand the usage of Telegram as a rival to WhatsApp.
• Understand people's thoughts, perceptions, discernment and behaviour around WhatsApp, Telegram, and any misinformation, disinformation, or malinformation shared in them.
• Understand our participants’ thoughts, perceptions, discernment and behaviour in the sexual and reproductive healthcare space.

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Understanding WhatsApp Usage and Behaviour - Our Findings

• Individuals are in multiple WhatsApp groups, each meant to achieve a given objective. Examples include friendship groups to bond with friends, church (or other religious) groups to participate in group activities.
• Both the younger and older female groups use their friendship groups to share their experiences on different aspects of their lives e.g. their sexual experiences, their relationships, their finances etc.
• Although the use of emojis and stickers are widely used, it depends on the tone of the group. For example, they are not widely used in “serious” groups such as church groups or funeral arrangement groups but among girlfriends or social groups of friends they’d be used more frequently.
• Across the board, focus group participants claimed to forward content they said would benefit other members.
• The use of explicit and abusive language and rigid etiquette rules were some of the factors that lead to people claiming as reasons why they leave WhatsApp groups.
• Participants expressed skepticism with links shared in WhatsApp groups. A familiarity with scams and fraud was shown with some participants sharing negative past experiences.
• Very few participants claimed to have been corrected or have corrected someone for sharing inaccurate or false information, especially in public groups.
• Generally, there are mixed reactions around a reporting tool that would lead to someone being kicked out of a group.
• In terms of getting information on COVID-19, participants claimed to rely on mainstream media with a few seeking information from the official World Health Organisation (WHO) website.
• Sexual and reproductive health is an intimate topic that participants claimed is mostly done face-to-face or within small groups of very close friends. They are rarely discussed in within family forums.
• There was a skepticism expressed around the use of herbalists and home remedies. Participants indicated they would need to seek a second medical opinion or search for testimonials before fully trusting the herbalist.
• The World Health Organisation (WHO) appeared wholly trusted across the board while participants were divided on Kenya’s Ministry of Health owing to allegations of corruption.

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Recommendations For Future Interventions

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Recommendations For Future Interventions

• Creating Kenya’s Big Tech Platform Scorecard for Accountability: Online gendered disinformation flourishes on Kenya’s major platforms Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and TikTok, going against their own established terms of service. These platforms must be more accountable to the public and minimize the harm, hate and disinformation that they allow to thrive on their platforms. Commencing with the elections, Nendo recommends that Reset consider supporting and creating an active tracking website to sum up micro-investigative projects that aim to rank and categorise threats on the key platforms with gendered disinformation. Once the scorecard would be complete, corresponding policy recommendations can be tabled and channeled through the Council for Responsible Social Media.

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• Commission and Track a Long-term Male & Female Perception Study: The WhatsApp Focus Group Discussion research done in this phase has begun to scratch the surface on perceptions, opinions, and views from digital citizens. This can continue with a more advanced study designed to last longer than the initial focus group. Engaging the participants to track their views over time on areas such as the elections, coverage of female aspirants and political figures, and perceptions of the manosphere. Separate male and female groups could be considered for this endeavour.

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• Supporting Gender Civil Society Organizations with a Social Listening “Centre of Excellence”: Kenya’s civil society organisations seem to have several players with varying degrees of experience at social media listening doing reporting. Creating a centre-of-excellence that can perform training, reporting, and information sharing will allow for less duplication of effort and build on a core team that can serve a section of CSOs during and after the elections. Prior to commencement, thematic areas would be sought and ranked to find the areas of greatest impact. These areas would then be piloted with feedback and quick iterations for what style of reporting best suits the CSOs before being scaled up. This would involve gathering requirements for reporting (cadence, depth, and themes), selection and setup of social media listening software, then the set up of the environment and the reporting with analysts seeking feedback and impact from report recipients.

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• Scale the Messaging Testing Framework: Nendo recommends that Reset do an open call or directly approach 2-3 gender-focused civil society organisations. The selected CSOs would then co-create a campaign (or have an existing campaign rebuilt) with technical support for messaging for behaviour change. Using Nendo’s “Agency” experience that can combine copywriting, design, media buying, and digital strategy it would be possible to test dozens of messages and assets to create a playbook for what works in delivering behaviour change communication in Kenya and East Africa.

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Recommendations For Future Interventions

• Capturing Peer-to-Peer Insights and Creating a Playbook for Prominent Women Online: Prominent women in media, politics, and society have wisdom and experiences that may be valuable to capture. Be it through in-depth interviews or intimate focus group discussions to capture how they navigate social media and the web. Depending on resources, it could be done with an extra element of finding young up-and-coming content creators and creating a mentor-mentee matchmaking experience where their findings, recommendations, and learnings are captured. The deliverable from this would be a playbook/toolkit tailored to women in East Africa (starting with Kenya) comprising of tools, tactics, and shared experiences.
• Creating a StopReflectVerify.com Guide to Gendered Disinfo: The StopReflectVerify.com website and platform is aimed at solving for the gap between the misinformation spread online (and the tens or thousands it can reach) and the fact check (which rarely reaches as many people, let alone those that saw or spread it). Gendered disinformation and the findings from Reset and its research partners could serve as the evidence needed to create a gender-themed quiz that can then be distributed to hundreds of thousands through strategic media buying on the platforms. This way the solution would ‘disrupt’ the spreaders/receivers of misinformation and give them an opportunity to test their knowledge in the quiz to spark/prompt behaviour change.
• Creating an Open-Source Online Training Curriculum: To achieve scale, we have to consider all the moving parts of Reset’s currently completed work. How can we package the learnings, insights, challenges, and implications? How can it become a module in upcoming/existing journalism trainings? For existing newsmakers, departments of journalism at universities, the Bloggers Association of Kenya, and the hubs, labs, and accelerators. Keeping the findings and insights ‘open source’ to permit continues building and adaptation for others to contribute along the way but with a kickstart from Reset.
• Track & Publish a Radio & TV Media Report: Broadcast media shapes national perceptions on people, issues, and society. Social media has its value, influence, and velocity but national media opens the opportunity to evaluate coverage. There’s more room to examine how nuances of patriarchy and gender conservatism or progressivism are creeping in through radio and television. Tracking and publishing a gender lens report would aid this. Print media can be considered to create a 360-degree of national media. A 6-month historical review could be commissioned to pilot this prior to starting reporting on a more regular basis.

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Thank you

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