By GPC News Desk
Kitutu Chache South politician Anthony Kibagendi has cautioned Kenyans against being swayed by online opinion polls circulating on social media.
The MP said some of the polls may be designed more to generate digital traffic than accurately measure public opinion.
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Kibagendi said users should scrutinise the methodology behind online voting platforms before attaching significance to the percentages and rankings displayed.
“Do not allow yourselves to be unnecessarily excited, worried or mobilised by every online poll you encounter,” he said.
He questioned platforms that require users to repeatedly click voting links, copy and reopen links through search engines, or return to a website several times to cast votes, arguing that such activity can generate additional traffic and engagement for the platform.
According to Kibagendi, users may have no way of establishing whether votes displayed on some platforms represent genuine public opinion where information on voter authentication, device verification, IP-address controls and auditing mechanisms is unavailable.
“A poll should only be taken seriously when its methodology is transparent, its voting mechanism is credible, and its results can be independently verified,” he said.
His remarks come as Kenya steps up preparations for the 2027 General Election amid growing concern over misinformation and manipulation in the digital space. The Media Council of Kenya (MCK) has identified opinion polls, misinformation, artificial intelligence and disinformation among issues requiring greater scrutiny as election reporting preparations intensify.
MCK’s election coverage guidelines advise journalists to establish who commissioned and funded a poll, the organisation that conducted it, sample size, geographical coverage, sampling method, response rate, fieldwork period and margin of error before reporting its findings.
Kibagendi said social media users should similarly distinguish between open online polls and scientifically conducted surveys.
“Do not spend your time repeatedly clicking links simply because someone tells you that your candidate is falling behind,” he said, adding that the resulting engagement could benefit the platform without necessarily producing a reliable measure of public opinion.
He urged residents to remain “calm, informed and focused” as political activity builds ahead of the 2027 polls.
