Fake 'Citizen Digital' graphic claims Kenya's chamber of commerce president criticised Standard newspaper
IN SHORT: A graphic claiming that Erick Rutto, president of Kenya's chamber of commerce, criticised the country's Standard newspaper is fake. The chamber clarified that the post did not come from Citizen Digital.
A graphic dated 17 March 2025 is circulating online, especially on the social media platform X. It is designed to look like a news alert poster from Citizen Digital, a major online news platform in Kenya.
It shows a photo of Erick Rutto, the president of the Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KNCCI), speaking in what appears to be a rural setting.
The chamber is a private non-profit organisation that supports businesses in Kenya by promoting trade, advocating for better business policies and providing networking opportunities.
The Standard, a national private newspaper, has been using bold headlines recently. In this context, the graphic claims that Rutto has accused the Standard of negative headlines that are keeping investors away from the country.
Specifically, he is quoted as saying: "The Standard's negativity is driving away investors and damaging confidence. I have foreigners reading our headlines thinking that Kenya is a banana republic!"
Context and background
Rutto was elected KNCCI president in 2023. In this role, he regularly speaks about Kenya's business environment.
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The ruling Kenya Kwanza government has been condemned for trying to silence critics, including journalists and social media users. The concerns followed increased abductions of perceived critics within the last year. The government has also been accused of pressuring private media houses by pulling government advertisements from critical outlets.
According to the graphic, Citizen Digital reported that Rutto accused the Standard newspaper of damaging Kenya's reputation. If true, this would suggest that concerns about the newspaper's reporting are genuine rather than politically motivated, as the KNCCI is not a government-affiliated body. It could also raise questions about the chamber's neutrality since the criticism seems to align with the government's past attempts to pressure the media.
But did this graphic really come from Citizen Digital? We checked.
Graphic is fabricated
A search for the graphic on the KNCCI and Citizen Digital's social media accounts does not show any record of it.
Similarly, a keyword search of such a news story does not reveal any related articles from the media house or from the KNCCI.
Instead, on 17 March, the KNCCI's official social media accounts shared the same graphic with a "fake news" stamp on it. Their caption further stated: "Fake news alert. This poster was never shared by @citizentvkenya."
The claim that Citizen Digital published this graphic of Rutto criticising the Standard is false. The story does not appear on either the KNCCI or Citizen Digital platforms. The graphic is fabricated.
