Cotu secretary general Francis Atwoli addresses the media at Solidarity House, Nairobi, on October 24, 2017, regarding the strike of tea workers. He has been a victim of fake news. [PHOTO/nation.co.ke]
Central Organisation of Trade Unions (Cotu) Secretary-General Francis Atwoli has become the latest victim of fake news.
This comes after social media went viral with a speech that he did not write.
The Cotu boss on Monday refuted reports that he held a media conference and talked about Deputy President William Ruto.
The said speech was first posted by a Mr Owiti Owayo on Sunday night before others took shared and re-posted it.
By evening , it had been shared 809 times with almost 2,000 comments and was written in the style of a press statement with Atwoli's photo at the bottom to convince the audience.
The fabrication alleged that Mr Atwoli was discrediting the October 26 election as a sham with the results fabricated and that Deputy President William Ruto's leadership style is wanting.
He has however cleared the air and distanced himself from the statement.
“The author of the fake news is a stranger to me...I wish to urge Kenyans to ignore such propaganda,” Mr Atwoli said.