Standard Media Group Responds To Viral Letter Apologising To Ruto
Standard Media Group (SGM) has disputed a viral statement circulating online that claimed the business had apologised to President William Ruto for its government coverage, claiming the letter was forged.
The comment came after the bogus letter went viral on social media, sparking public debate about whether The Standard’s editorial attitude on government reporting had shifted since its explosive front pages.
The false paper was published as an editorial statement and apology to the Kenyan government and the general public, claiming that The Standard had examined its coverage of state programs.
“RE: EDITORIAL NOTE AND APOLOGY ON OUR COVERAGE OF THE GOVERNMENT,” stated the banner of the fake letter.
According to the fake letter, the review covered government initiatives in infrastructure, healthcare, and the economy, areas where it alleged previous reporting had not been accurate or fair enough.
FAKE NEWS ALERT: Be cautious NOT to fall for propaganda and deep fakes. For GENUINE news updates, VERIFY from our accounts @StandardKenya and @KTNNewsKE. pic.twitter.com/cuLl7OY9I8— The Standard Digital (@StandardKenya) July 9, 2026
The document further claimed that Standard Media had acknowledged shortcomings in how it represented government work plus it admitted flaws in its unbalanced reporting on the government.
“That review found that some of our coverage was factually incorrect and that our government initiatives, while fulfilling the government’s mandate, were not always accurate or fair to other areas,” stated the false letter in part.
The fake statement also alleged that recommendations had been made for corrections, while claiming the media house had reaffirmed its commitment to maintaining high standards in its journalism practices.
The circulation of the fake letter came amid attention on The Standard’s recent coverage of President Ruto’s administration and renewed public discussions around media reporting on government performance in Kenya.
Over the past week, KTN News, the television outlet of SMG, has published a report implicating President Ruto on June 23 after an explosive feature story both on television and in its print affiliate, The Standard, titled “Gallery of Ruto’s Lies”.
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The investigative features examined unfulfilled campaign pledges and highlighted the gap between the administration’s rhetoric and on-the-ground realities regarding delayed infrastructure projects and economic promises.
President Ruto publicly retaliated by criticising the media group on social media, dismissing their headlines as continuous “extortionist propaganda” and blackmail.
This prompted journalists and editors to hit back at the government’s attempts to intimidate them.
This comes a day after the National Assembly Speaker, Moses Wetangula, also gave the media company a 48-hour deadline to retract a story titled ‘Broad Based Family,’ which he calls false and malicious.
The piece suggested his brother, MP for Westlands Tim Wanyoni, and a gubernatorial aspirant for Bungoma County, stems his positions to family ties with the Speaker, a claim his team firmly rejects.
This constant criticism of government officials has led to the media house being denied government advertisements and its subsequent loss of key State advertising tenders, a move that has led it to be embroiled in months of staff salary delays.
Standard Media Group Responds To Viral Letter Apologising To Ruto
