The new report paints a troubling picture of how young people who took part in the Gen Z protests were allegedly targeted online in ways meant to silence them and limit their right to express themselves.
It shows how digital platforms, which many youths use every day, became tools of intimidation after thousands of protesters demonstrated across the country between June 2024 and July 2025.
According to the findings, the government was reportedly running a coordinated online campaign to track, monitor and intimidate these protesters, creating an atmosphere of fear that made many hesitant to speak out.
The report, titled “This fear, everyone is feeling it”: Tech-facilitated violence against young activists in Kenya, describes a structured effort by authorities to use social media as a way to weaken the influence of the protests. It shows how activists who were vocal against the government suddenly found themselves surrounded by hostility online.
Amnesty International says the government and its allied digital networks weaponised social media platforms to completely muffle dissent.
This was allegedly done through what the group calls “technology-facilitated violence,” carried out mainly through X, formerly Twitter, TikTok and Instagram.
According to the report, these platforms were filled with state-backed trolling, smear campaigns, threats and misleading information aimed directly at young activists. The intention was to scare them, overwhelm them, and make it difficult for their messages to gain traction.
“Our analysis clearly demonstrates widespread and coordinated tactics on digital platforms to silence and suppress protests,” Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General, said.
These findings suggest that a sophisticated digital strategy may have been run by state-sponsored trolls who worked to push pro-government views and drown out protest content.
Amnesty argues that the ultimate goal was to control the narrative during a period when Kenya was under close watch from international observers. By filling social media with supportive messages about the government, the trolls effectively manipulated trending algorithms.
This made it harder for protest-related hashtags from the Gen Z movement to appear in people’s feeds. Even at the height of the June 2024 protests, when hashtags like #Occupy gained national momentum, the state allegedly responded by launching its own online counter-campaign, using the same digital platforms as tools to weaken the protests’ visibility.
The report further claims that this strategy went beyond social media engagement. Activists reported receiving direct threats, harassment and being placed under surveillance. Some said online abuse came before real-world harm, explaining that messages like “We are coming for you” were sometimes followed by enforced disappearances.
Several youths described groups of bloggers, allegedly linked to the government, who launched coordinated attacks designed to insult, intimidate and discredit those critical of the state.
The report highlights the experience of human rights defender Hanifa Adan, who faced doxxing, body shaming and constant online abuse. “It took away the spark, the joy. It took away who I was,” she said.
Her story reflects what many young activists went through as they tried to stand up for their rights but found themselves overwhelmed by organised harassment.In its conclusion, Amnesty International called on the government to investigate all cases of tech-facilitated violence, stop the intimidation of activists and address enforced disappearances linked to the protests.
The report warns that unless these actions are taken seriously, the fear surrounding digital spaces will continue to discourage young people from participating in civic life, weakening their ability to speak freely and hold leaders accountable.
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