This archive report was first published on 16 June 2020.
Kenya's Largest Online Forum Shut Down ¶
On June 16, 2020, Facebook deleted Kenya's largest online forum, 'Group Kenya', which had over 2.1 million members.
The group, which was the biggest online forum in Africa, had been a hub for discussions on various topics, including politics, love lives, religion, job searches, and trending issues.
However, the group had also been criticized for hosting content that violated Facebook's community standards, including explicit sexual material, violent and graphic visuals, adult nudity, and hate speech.
Facebook has the right to remove content that defies its community standards, and it welcomes reports from the public regarding such content.
Group Kenya's founder, Timoth Sem, is reportedly working to have the group reinstated, and a new group with the same name has already been formed, with over 50,000 members joining within an hour of its inception.
The deletion of Group Kenya has sparked mixed reactions on social media, with some hailing the move as a necessary step to maintain online safety and others condemning it as a restriction on freedom of expression.
Another popular Facebook forum in Kenya, Kilimani Mums and Dads Uncensored (Original), has over 936,000 members.
