In October, two fake gazette notices surfaced on Facebook, Twitter, Whats App and other social media platforms used in Kenya. The fake documents claimed the Cabinet Secretary for Interior Fred Matiang’i had declared public holidays.
The first “public holiday” was October 14 to celebrate Eliud Kipchoge’s record-breaking feat in running a marathon in under two hours – 1:59:40. The second was about the Hindu holiday of Diwali, for Monday, October 28.
Thankfully, in both instances Kenyan fact checkers, mainstream media houses, online news sites and Matiang’i’s ministry came out to set the record straight: The notices were fake.