The Ministry of ICT has unveiled a controversial plan to spend KES 100 million annually on social media influencers, a move critics are calling a state-sponsored attempt to drown out organic public dissent.

In a bid to "positively profile the government brand," the state intends to recruit an army of 30 influencers—10 "macro" and 20 "micro"—to push government narratives. The initiative, detailed in the National Communication Strategy for 2024-2027, comes as a direct response to the youth-led protests that rocked the nation in recent years, which were largely organized on platforms like X (formerly Twitter) and TikTok.

Buying the Narrative

The strategy is explicit: the government feels it has lost control of the information flow. "With the rise of digital media, the government has found it increasingly difficult to control information as multiple voices have emerged," the strategy document admits. The solution? Pay for the voices.

Under the scheme, macro-influencers (those with over 100,000 followers) will pocket a cool KES 100,000 per quarter, while micro-influencers will earn KES 50,000. Their job description includes "creating hashtags," "promoting them on social media," and "countering misinformation."

• The Cost of Silence: Critics argue that KES 100 million could be better spent on medicine in county hospitals or bursaries for needy students, rather than on what they term "digital mercenaries."
• Trust Deficit: By monetizing patriotism, the government risks eroding the credibility of the very influencers they hire. In the eyes of the skeptical Gen Z demographic, a paid endorsement is often viewed as propaganda.
• The misinformation Trap: The line between "countering misinformation" and "suppressing legitimate criticism" is dangerously thin. Who defines what constitutes misinformation?

The Gen Z Factor

This move is a tacit admission that the government's traditional communication channels—press releases and podium speeches—are failing to resonate with the digital generation. The protests of 2024 and 2025 proved that a single viral TikTok video could mobilize more people than a presidential address.

However, attempting to co-opt the influencer economy may backfire. The digital space thrives on authenticity. If the public perceives these influencers as puppets of the state, the KES 100 million investment might result in nothing more than a verified echo chamber, while the real conversation continues to rage in the comments section, unpaid and unfiltered.