William Ruto: Kenyans Correct President For Claiming He's Responsible For Elon Musk Paying X Influencers

• President William Ruto said his government was committed to increasing Kenyans' earnings from social media platforms
• Ruto then said that he talked to the owners of X, Facebook, YouTube and TikTok to monetise content
• However, X users called the president out, noting that Elon Musk rolled out monetisation on X worldwide

President William Ruto is on the spot over comments about content monetisation in Kenya.

Did William Ruto lie about content monetisation?

Speaking in Nakuru on Wednesday, August 23, the president claimed he talked to the owners of different social media platforms to monetise content.

“I have discussed with the owners of social media platforms, from Facebook to Twitter to TikTok, including YouTube, and we have progressed our conversation.”

Ruto then claimed that Kenya was among a few African countries that had achieved 80% monetisation on YouTube and credited himself for Elon Musk’s move to monetise Twitter, now known as X.

“I am happy to report that Twitter has agreed to monetise our content. Kenyan is getting between KSh 300 million to KSh 500 million monthly from these platforms,” he said.

However, Kenyans noted that Musk rolled out the program worldwide, not only in Kenya. It is also noteworthy that YouTube monetisation started years back.

Here are some of the reactions to Ruto’s speech:

@ogingojoy:

“So Ruto advocated for global X (Twitter) monetisation. We don't have a president.”

@kuimashaah:

“Ruto feels bad because he can't tax the ad revenue from X accounts.”

@BonfaceMwangi__:

“This is jaba. This guy lies. You might think his stomach hurts if he tells the truth.”

@yuleanalyst:

“Lies.”

@BCherich:

“So Ruto is saying that Musk would not monetise content on X were it not for him. Laughter will finish me. So you guys make 300m to 500m online? Amazing.”

Does Lamu have swimming lions?

In a similar incident, a video of a joke Ruto in Naivasha during the Safari Rally resurfaced online.

Tourists were reportedly trouping to Lamu county after the president said they could watch lions swimming.

Many Kenyans called out the politician for lying about the tourist attraction, as others said he was joking.