10 questions with an r/Kenya mod
Kenyan Redditors debate gender roles, politics, and the state of the nation in one of the fastest-growing sub-Reddits dedicated to an African country
Artwork by digital artist a.omala. Support her work and follow her on Instagram!
‘SiSi’ means we in Swahili and is one of two top-ranked keywords in r/Kenya, a Reddit group created to discuss all things about the country from which it draws its name.
“Can’t believe Ruto is winning” writes one user in a post with over 200 comments.
“enyewe Sisi (We as) Kenyans can't be helped.”
‘We’ co-ranks with dilemmas in English – a word that describes a difficult situation.
“DILEMMA”. A one-word headline on a top post. “My brother's wife disappeared on him…”
Top ranked words on r/Kenya (relative to global frequency)
On a platform dominated by English-speaking users from the US, r/Kenya has carved out out a multilingual, pluralistic, corner of the Kenyan-internet. Users oscillate between English, Sheng, and Kiswahili, posting captivating tales, introspective musings about life, relationships, the economy, and empassioned debates about the state of the sub.
r/Kenya represents an internet culture distinct from what’s ascribed to Kenyans on Twitter and Facebook. It paints a picture of a Kenya beyond traditional cliches — a place that surpasses the notion of a mere silicon savannah or a country caught between hustlers and dynasties.
The dynamic sub recently hit 100,000 subscribers positioning it among the top 5% of subReddits on the platform.
R/Kenya’s path to 100,00k (and beyond)
In honor of r/Kenya’s milestone, we asked one of its mods, u/hamsterdamc, about the subReddit’s evolution, it subscribers, and what it takes to moderate the go-to Reddit group for all things Kenya.
10 Questions with u/hamsterdamc
1. What is r/Kenya’s origin story?
r/Kenya was born in 2009 when Kenya was just recovering from post-election violence. President Mwai Kibaki had just completed laying an undersea cable which lowered internet costs and encouraged people to explore the internet, including r/Kenya.
2. r/Kenya recently hit 100,000 subs. What has been the coolest part of watching the subreddit grow?
We have come from far as a subreddit and are happy to be among the few African countries that have over 100k users. The only African countries with more than 100k members are South Africa, Egypt, and Morocco. So we are happy to join that club. We weren't even in the top 10 a few years ago.
3. How do you, as a mod, feel about the news that ChatGPT training Itself on Reddit posts?
Reddit itself is a gold mine due to its amount of highly niche user-generated content. The use of such data to train AI can be beneficial since it would facilitate greater accuraccy. However, as a company, Reddit should explore ways to incentivize users or even mods for that work. Not necessarily monetary compensation, but access to cool features should suffice for power users and mods if implementing the same for users would be a headache.
4. What makes r/kenya differ from WhatsApp groups or Twitter, the spaces people usually think of for Kenyan internet users?
r/Kenya is extremely niche. Many people may not appreciate how it works. Most platforms have an incentive-based model where people get likes, shares, retweets, and other metrics to advance their interests. However, Reddit is so unique that a small group of people can enjoy and thrive on the platform. Also, the “subreddit” model is not that popular in Kenya where people are used to “open” models like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc. Anonymity plays a big part in not attracting people to the subreddit. Reddit has also, at times, been referred to as “elitist”.
5. How do you think user anonymity affects users' willingness to engage in the r/Kenya subreddit?
User anonymity can be considered a core feature of the subreddit and Reddit as a whole. Users can share their thoughts, experiences, and ideas without the fear of being exposed, which fosters a healthy community. Similarly, anonymity has brought some unintended actions like scammers, trolls, and all manner of unsavory users to the subreddit. That, however, has not derailed the sole purpose of the subreddit.
6. Have moderators had to change the sub over time?
Initially, the subreddit was known for being associated with nerds and geeks who could figure out how it works. So back then there wasn’t much activity. Come 2020, during the lockdown, there was a surge in traffic since people were exploring new sites to beat the pandemic boredom. Such traffic brought along very many characters. It became chaotic. The mod team rewrote the whole subreddit rules, introduced flairs, and most recently increased the number of moderators to help monitor the flow of conversation.
7. How does r/Kenya provide a safe space for open discussion?
The subreddit has provides people with a safe space to talk about taboo topics by relieving the fear of prejudice or discrimination. Some have shared their struggles and recived necessary support from subreddit members. The subreddit has also been a powerful ground for rational debates on issues such as abortion, anti-natalism, sexual minorities rights, tribalism, racism, and sexism. This gives members have a balanced understanding of different viewpoints and encouraged conversations that don't happen in real life due to their perceived taboo nature.
8. Who are r/Kenya’s subscribers?
According to recent user-generated surveys, r/Kenya has a siginficant population of people aged 15 to 26. Therefore it is safe to say that it is mainly youths who populate the subreddit. Ideologically, the subreddit has a healthy divide of 50/50 opinions on social issues. Most issues receive both support and opposition in the same measure. Harassment towards any group is strictly prohibited and rule breakers are penalized evenly.
9. What’s the hardest and the most rewarding aspect of moderating r/Kenya?
The hardest part has to be moderating against rule breakers who sometimes feel that they are unfairly penalized. The good thing is that the mod team works as a team which has helped eliminate any potential bias. The good thing about moderating the subreddit is the ability to be able to keep the subreddit orderly and contribute to fruitful conversations. Mod tools are also cool sometimes.
10. You’re not paid to moderate r/Kenya. Why do you do it?
Moderating is indeed a volunteer position. Reddit and the subreddit do not compensate us. To us, being part of a social digital square where the exchange of ideas is encouraged is probably the biggest incentive. Apart from that, I can say that it's a fulfilling hobby when you are free.
Thanks for reading everyone. And, a huge thank you to u/hamsterdamc, for taking the time to answer these questions as well as @a.omala for letting us use her artwork.