Government Budgets Sh100 Million To Pay Social Media Influencers, Bloggers To Boost Its Image Online

The Kenyan government is planning to spend up to Sh100 million annually to pay social media influencers and bloggers to promote pro-government narratives online, a strategy document reveals, in what critics are calling a desperate attempt to control the digital space after months of devastating youth protests.

The Ministry of Information, Communication, and the Digital Economy has outlined the controversial plan in its National Communication Strategy, seeking funds to recruit 30 influencers who will be paid quarterly stipends to create hashtags, promote government messaging, and counter what officials call misinformation.

The revelations, first reported by Business Daily, have sparked fury among Kenyans who accuse the government of prioritizing propaganda over critical services like healthcare and education. The timing of the budget request is particularly explosive, coming barely eight months after authorities were exposed by Amnesty International for weaponizing social media against Gen Z protesters who brought the country to a standstill in 2024 and 2025.

Under the plan, 10 macro-influencers with more than 100,000 followers each would pocket Sh100,000 quarterly, while 20 micro-influencers with between 10,000 and 100,000 followers would earn Sh50,000 quarterly. Their duties include creating and promoting hashtags on social media, a tactic eerily similar to what Amnesty International documented as state-sponsored online attacks against young protesters.

The National Communication Strategy document makes a stunning admission that has sent shockwaves through digital rights circles. The ministry confesses that the government has found it increasingly difficult to control information as multiple voices have emerged, particularly through digital media. It aims to leverage diverse media platforms and communication assets for the government’s advantage, including enlisting social media influencers and bloggers to push government narratives.

This is not the government’s first rodeo with paid influencers. A damning Amnesty International report released in November last year exposed how Kenyan authorities systematically deployed technology-facilitated violence as part of a coordinated campaign to suppress Generation Z-led protests between June 2024 and July 2025. The report titled “This fear, everyone is feeling it” documented how the government paid bloggers to intimidate and send threatening messages to young protestors, using online harassment and smear campaigns as core state tools to undermine critics.

At least 128 people died, 3,000 were arrested, and over 83 were forcibly disappeared during the Gen Z protests that rocked 44 of Kenya’s 47 counties. The youth-led demonstrations, organized through hashtags like #RejectFinanceBill2024, #OccupyParliament, and #SisiNiNumbers, exposed the government’s desperation to control the digital narrative after protesters breached Parliament buildings on June 25, 2024, forcing President William Ruto to reject the controversial Finance Bill.

In 2021, Mozilla also reported that influencers were paid to dilute criticism and shape online debate following the Pandora Papers leak, which exposed business dealings by the Kenyatta family abroad. The practice of using keyboard warriors to shape public discourse is widespread across Africa, but digital rights advocates universally condemn it as an assault on free expression.

The proposed Sh100 million budget comes at a time when public anger is at boiling point. Kenyans have taken to social media to blast the government for what they call misplaced priorities. One prominent politician, Justina Wamae, captured the mood with a sharp biblical analogy, calling the plan a cup washed outside but dirty inside, implying the government is focused on appearance over substance.

Other reactions on platform X accused the government of governing through PR. One viral comment read: “At a time when 800,000 pupils are yet to join grade 10. At a time when patients are buying own syringes to be treated. No amount of PR can hide incompetence. We will be here.”

The influencer recruitment drive is part of a broader strategy designed to enhance synergy and coherence across all communication efforts while fostering a citizen-centric culture in public discourse, the ministry states. Part of the budget will pay influencers stipends, while the rest will provide tools and resources to help them fight misinformation in their communities and participate in regular engagement events with state officials.

Kenya currently has one of Africa’s most vibrant influencer economies. In 2025, marketers reportedly paid influencers a total of Sh645 million for advertising deals, according to data firm Statista. The government’s entry into this space with a Sh100 million budget signals its recognition of the power these digital creators wield, particularly among young people who have increasingly rejected traditional media.

The National Communication Strategy also reveals the government’s anxiety about its loss of control over the information landscape. With the rise of digital media, the government has found it increasingly difficult to gate-keep information as a multiplicity of voices has emerged, the document admits, noting that the advent of new media platforms and the rise of Artificial Intelligence have further complicated communication dynamics, with the government now competing with citizens in terms of agenda setting and information sharing.

The proposal emerges against a backdrop of heightened political activity ahead of the 2027 General Elections, leading many observers to view it as a tool for political image-making rather than genuine public communication. The government has already increased surveillance capabilities, with Parliament allocating Sh150 million to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations for the Optimus 3.0 system to track social media users nationwide.

Digital rights advocates warn that the combination of paid influencers, increased surveillance, and the recently enacted Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes (Amendment) Act, 2024, gives the state unprecedented power to monitor, silence, and potentially endanger citizens who criticize the regime. President Ruto signed the contentious law in October despite mounting concerns that it could exacerbate state-sponsored repression.

The Kenya Human Rights Commission and presidential aspirant Reuben Kigame have gone to court to challenge the constitutionality of the cybercrime law, arguing it represents a dangerous escalation in the government’s war against free expression.

For Gen Z activists who organized the historic protests of 2024 and 2025, the influencer budget represents yet another attempt by the government to manipulate the digital space they dominate. Unlike previous protests led by political figures, these leaderless, tribeless, and partyless demonstrations relied on decentralized digital strategies that bypassed mainstream media gatekeeping and censorship.

Live-streamed videos on TikTok allowed demonstrators to document police crackdowns in real time, countering government narratives and drawing international attention. X Spaces facilitated instant live discussions, with President Ruto himself joining one in a desperate attempt to placate protesters. WhatsApp groups provided logistical coordination, including updates on safe routes, legal aid, and first-aid support.

The government’s new influencer strategy appears designed to infiltrate and neutralize these same digital spaces. By recruiting influencers from within the communities that organized the protests, officials hope to reshape narratives from the inside out. But whether Kenyans, particularly the defiant Gen Z demographic that stormed Parliament and forced a president to back down, will accept government-sponsored messaging remains to be seen.

What is clear is that the battle for Kenya’s digital soul is far from over. As one activist put it after surviving state-sponsored online attacks during the protests, the threats made me believe that I was doing the wrong thing by protesting. We were fighting for people who don’t care. I’m not sure I will protest again. That chilling effect, exactly what the government aims to achieve with both its surveillance apparatus and its influencer army, may be the real victory the Sh100 million is meant to buy.