IN SHORT: A statement supposedly from Kenyan politician Gideon Moi demanding that media house Standard Group stop criticising the government in its reporting is fake.
“With the new understanding between KANU and UDA, we are entering a new season of cooperation aimed at uniting the country and advancing a shared development agenda,” reads a document circulating on social media in Kenya.
The document, dated 8 October 2025, appears to be a statement from Gideon Moi, chairman of the Kenya African National Union (Kanu) party.
The United Democratic Alliance (UDA) is the ruling party in Kenya under president William Ruto.
Moi has been openly critical of the current administration, from the controversial Finance Bill 2024 and the shrinking civic engagement space to the defunding of primary education and a rogue police force.
In March 2025, Moi rejected the idea of forming an alliance with Ruto’s administration. However, later in September, the media reported that Moi held a surprise meeting with Ruto. This has sparked speculation about a political collaboration.
“Standard group ya Gideon K. Moi will now be reporting good development progress of the Government,” reads a caption to the document.
The Moi family holds a controlling stake in the Standard Media Group, and its longstanding influence over the company is well-known. Claims that Moi supposedly directed the media house to be less critical of the government, following rumours of a political alliance, would be easy to believe.
But is the statement authentic? We checked.
Ignore fake document
Africa Check took a closer look at the circulating document and identified several red flags, including grammatical errors and poor formatting. The use of small letters in the date and the exclamation marks in the subject line suggest that the document has been fabricated.
We also compared the document with an existing press release on Kanu’s official X account and found that a different font was used.
We also found no credible media reports confirming that Moi directed the Standard media house to stand down.
Africa Check reached out to Nyainda Manasse, the director of communications at Kanu, who also confirmed that the document was fake.
“The Standard Media Group is a distinct legal entity, separate from the person of Gideon Moi and has its own independent editorial policies. Therefore, it doesn’t operate under his whims and directions,” Manasse wrote in an email.
The circulating document is fake and should be ignored.
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