How Kenya Plans To Spend Millions To Shape Your Social Media Feed
The Kenyan government has unveiled a plan to spend up to KES 100 M (~USD 775 K) annually to pay social media influencers to promote its agenda online, according to a newly published state strategy document.
The initiative, outlined in the Draft Government Communication Strategy 2024–2027, marks the official adoption of a tactic the state has used informally for years; deploying paid online commentators to counter criticism and “positively profile the government brand.”
The Ministry of Information, Communication, and the Digital Economy is spearheading the plan. The allocated funds will target influencers across all major platforms, including X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Telegram, and Threads.
Two levels of influencers are targeted: 10-20 macro-influencers (those with followings exceeding 100,000, and 20-32 micro-influencers (those with 10,000 to 100,000 followers).
There are conflicting reports on precise payments. One detailed breakdown suggests both macro- and micro-influencers could receive up to KES 1 M shillings quarterly. Another states macro-influencers would get KES 100 K quarterly and micro-influencers get KES 50 K. Their duties include creating and promoting pro-government hashtags and content.
The influencer budget is part of a much larger KES 2.8 B (~USD 21.7 M) three-year National Communication Strategy, covering traditional advertising and technology.
The strategy is a direct response to what the government document calls “an increasingly difficult environment to control information flow”. This follows two years of historic, youth-led protests largely organised on social media against tax hikes and corruption.
In 2024 and 2025, hashtags like #RejectFinanceBill and #RutoMustGo trended for days, mobilising tens of thousands into the streets. The government, which initially dismissed online critics as mere digital noisemakers, was caught off guard.
An Amnesty International report from late 2025 confirmed the state had already been paying “bloggers” and networks to “drown out protest hashtags”. These state-linked actors engaged in coordinated campaigns of threats, smears, and disinformation against young activists. The new budget formalises and expands this practice.
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Kenya is a ripe market for this strategy. The country has one of Africa’s most vibrant influencer economies, with marketers paying an estimated KES 645 M (~USD 5 M) to influencers in 2025 alone.
Critically, social media is a primary news source. A 2025 Reuters Institute survey found 75% of Kenyans use social media for news weekly, and 58% regularly pay attention to news from creators and influencers—far more than the 34% who follow traditional news brands on those platforms.
Officials frame the spending as adapting to the digital age and fighting “misinformation, disinformation, and malinformation”. Dennis Itumbi, a presidential office head, stated the government was willing to pay creators focused on “housing, health, job creation, and agriculture”.
However, critics see it as a blunt attempt to manufacture consent. “Why is public money being used to ‘manage the narrative,’ especially when the plan openly admits it is about taking back control of information?” one analysis noted.
The tactic is part of a broader pattern of digital control. In June 2025, during protest anniversaries, the Communications Authority ordered TV and radio stations to halt live coverage and restricted Telegram, a move that major media houses labelled unconstitutional.
By budgeting for influencer partnerships, Kenya’s government is moving its information strategy from reactive and covert to proactive and official. It signals a clear intention to compete directly with independent online voices in a battle for the attention of a young, connected, and frustrated population.
The effectiveness of this expensive campaign, and the public’s reception to state-sponsored influencers, will play out on the screens of millions of Kenyans in the lead-up to the 2027 general elections.
