The Media Council of Kenya (MCK) has directed all media stations in the country to introduce a seven-second delay on all live broadcasts as a way of controlling the rising instances of harmful and misleading content being aired on various media stations in the country.
This was announced in a statement issued on Tuesday by the MCK regarding the issue of harmful and inflammatory content being aired on various media stations in the country.
MCK is intended to ensure that media stations in the country are able to effectively regulate the content that is being aired on their stations, especially during live broadcasts of various political rallies and other activities in the country.
The move by the MCK has been informed by the rising instances of inflammatory remarks and misinformation being aired on various media stations in the country.
“The Media Council of Kenya has noted an increase in inflammatory statements, misinformation, and manipulated media content broadcast through media platforms,” part of the statement by the MCK read.
MCK noted that this had been a great concern, especially with regards to broadcasts from rallies, where some of the remarks are transmitted without any filtering.
Under the media code of conduct, media houses are required to have a seven-second delay while broadcasting live from a rally or any other event.
This gives them an opportunity to block or edit out any content that they believe is against the law or against media guidelines.
The media houses, however, have been warned that once they air such content, they take full responsibility, whether or not the remarks were made by a politician or a speaker in a rally.
“While exposing unguarded or irresponsible statements by public figures serves the public interest, any legal issues arising from such content ultimately attract responsibility on the part of the platform,” MCK noted.
In addition, media houses have been asked to be more careful and avoid airing content that might increase tension and divide the people of Kenya.
However, MCK noted that if they are to air hate speech, they should be careful and edit out any offensive words.
The media houses, however, have been reminded that while they don’t control what is said in
