Thread by @MKaigwa

THREAD: Why @NYTimes should learn from when @CNN got Kenyans on Twitter mad. After #SomeoneTellCNN, they had to fly Exec. Vice President & MD for @CNNi (@Tony_MaddoxCNN) in to @StateHouseKenya to personally apologise to Pres. @UKenyatta. CNN also lost $1,000,000 in advertising.

ACTION: This thread is long so if you want to take action first, please:

Tweet/Email NYT International Editor Michael Slackman - [e-mail] (@meslackman) referencing issues listed below. I believe we're escalating to the right person, given the circumstances.

ACTION: What do we want?

a. An explanation, @meslackman has done this on Yemen before here - nytimes.com/2018/10/26/rea….
b. A caveat e.g. "this article contains graphic images" to warn readers.
c . A formal apology and strong editorial consideration to withdraw the image.

Context for the Thread:

Kenyans are aggrieved by the choice of photo in a NYT piece (#1 top trending story of 16 Jan globally on their site).

Specifically requesting the 3rd photo in the piece be replaced. Here's a brief separate thread on that

https://twitter.com/MKaigwa/status/1085240299931222016

Now to CNN's story.

Let's begin in 2012, David @McKenzieCNN files a story about a grenade attack in Nairobi that goes on air on @CNN. @JonMannExAnchor is seen in frame with the words "Violence in Kenya."

Kenyans on Twitter take issue and #SomeoneTellCNN begins.

Kenyans denounce the wording and framing.

Together, they rally and raise thousands of tweets, dozens of blog posts and encourage local mainstream media journalists to join them in raising the issue.

Eventually, David @McKenzieCNN apologises -

https://twitter.com/McKenzieCNN/status/178794841663217664

.

@McKenzieCNN In 2014, Nima Elbagir (@NimaCNN) filed her story "Kenyans Armed and Ready to Vote."

In it, a "Kikuyu militia group" show their powdered faces and arms conducting drills on-camera with "home-made guns & machetes."

#SomeoneTellCNN made a roaring return.
edition.cnn.com/videos/interna…

Not sure if this is just me, but the video doesn't play for me when on a Kenyan IP address. Other videos load but this doesn't. Only when I'm logged in with a VPN (pointing abroad) will it load and play.

I figured this was how they slowed the outrage of #SomeoneTellCNN.

The implications for @CNN were different this time.

Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of ICT @MoICTKenya, @bantigito, called the coverage "stage managed...progaganda" and promised to write to CNN to protest the story, singling out the @FT as well.

@CNN changed tact and issued a press statement in defense of @NimaCNN and their story through @CNNPRUK on @twitlonger.

No apology this time. An apt Kenyan saying to this would have been "we shall revisit."

It wouldn't be long until #SomeoneTellCNN returned (for the last time).

@CNN @NimaCNN @CNNPRUK @twitlonger In 2015, @CNN's US broadcast would regret their words when they described Kenya as a "hotbed of terror."

https://twitter.com/CNN/status/624006935218647040

#SomeoneTellCNN returned and this time, Kenyans online, offline, journalists, bloggers and the country rallied to its defense.

More tweets, pressure & allies (including other African countries) joined #SomeoneTellCNN.

From @CKirubi's viral tweet (sampled below), the word "hotbed" was rebranded into potential and positivity on Kenya.

Eventually, it was added to @BarackObama & @UKenyatta's speeches.

It was far from over.

The late Maj. Gen (Ret.) Nkaissery, Cabinet Secretary for @InteriorKE spoke and called the coverage "lies" and "anti-Kenya propaganda." ending by inviting CNN to give an apology.

A $1,000,000 contract betwen @MagicalKenya and @CNN was suspended after being described as "misrepresenting the country's status." -

businessdailyafrica.com/Kenya-suspends…

P.S. If you want the "source" of this thread to read the chapter (+10k words) you can read/reference/download it here - link.springer.com/chapter/10.105…. It is Open Access, so you're free to print, download and distribute the PDF. My thanks to @TimsWeiss for encouraging me to write it.

@TimsWeiss My point: International media houses including @Daily_Express (UK) @BILD (Germany) and @NYTimes and others ought to realise that if Kenya chooses to, it won't spare them from diplomatic and commercial consequences.

This may be the first time for the NYT, but not for Kenya.

Unpopular opinion: I recognise that @kimidefreytas was doing her job and later apologised. I believe she lost most goodwill after her first responses were interpreted as curt and flippant to aggrieved readers.

I realise that abusing a journalist or a desire to withdraw her work permit is targeting the individual and not the institution. @Nanjala1's got a thread on this -

https://twitter.com/Nanjala1/status/1085297602869059584

@WGKantai1 gives timely advice on how to act and recounts what it was like to be in the newsroom during #Westgate and empathises in his blog post -

unquietafrican.blogspot.com/2019/01/in-aft…

Both Nanjala & Wallace have also endured a lot of pressure and some abuse for their opinions.

Edit: it is @wgkantai for the tweet/blog post above.

There are plenty of other interesting, provocative and memorable threads that have been shared on the @NYTimes photo issue in the last 24 hours. I'd like to sample some.

Why #KOT are a force to reckon with by @jimchuchu -

https://twitter.com/jimchuchu/status/1085426822463082496

The @NYTimes know what they are doing by showing people of colour in compromising positions and have had this debate before via @Ngartia -

https://twitter.com/Ngartia/status/1085443203992637440

and @weldonwk (w/ screenshots in case you've maxed out your NYT free articles)

https://twitter.com/weldonwk/status/1085436865744912390?s=20

This has been a transatlantic issue before.

UK media and intelligence services were angry at the US media (including @NYTimes) for how it published and shared sensitive terror attack information, @EmilyBell writes in @guardian

theguardian.com/media/2017/may…

A reminder to do something about this, please remember to take action by using the ACTION tweet above. Reporting tweets, visiting the NYTimes and keeping the conversation going are good, but seem not to be having the desired effect (a response) yet.

https://twitter.com/MKaigwa/status/1085632352305496068?s=20

Lastly, the celebration of @NYTPhoto being suspended isn't accurate. It was a parody account. The @NYTimesPhoto account is legitimate, verified and still up.

I'd like to raise this thread/conversation to a couple people across the US/UK so this is me paging you:

@jayrosen_nyu @baratunde @KarenAttiah @brianstelter @tmsruge @mariaressa @dangillmor @anildash @LarryMadowo.

My thanks to @Wamathai, @ndutammbogori, @Tounie_ and @WKaigwa for feedback and reading early drafts of this thread.

E&OE ✌.