“Hustlers Versus Dynasties”: Social Media Narratives, the 2022 Presidential Election in Kenya and Digital Peacebuilding

Social media play a salient role in elections in Kenya, but the exact nature of its influence remains unclear. Pulling from critical theories of technology, agenda setting, and theory of change in the context of media ecology and social amplification of risk framework, this paper investigates how social media affected the outcome of the 2022 elections through amplifying the “hustlers versus dynasties” narrative that drew on class politics and how this narrative links to the country's postelection conflict. Through mixed methods of semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions, and a postelection survey, the paper explains how social media facilitated the spread of the narrative and contributed to the polarization of Kenyan citizens during and after the 2022 elections. With additional document analysis and institutional mapping, it concludes that the weaponization of online spaces contributes to offline conflict but further identifies the potential of social media in digital peacebuilding.