The Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) has distanced itself from a public notice claiming that Nation and Standard Newspapers use cancerous ink, terming it fake.
KEBS has clarified that,
” Public notice on newspaper petroleum-based printing ink linked to cases of cancer is fake and has not originated from KEBS.”
The fake notice claimed that “the government instructed media houses to reduce the use of carbon black ink which is known to contain traces of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) linked to cancer and other health issues”.
The fake notice alleged that the mentioned media houses had failed to follow government directives.
“We wish to inform the public that pursuant to an agency-mandated investigation the following national media houses have failed to meet the minimum required threshold for the use of commercial petroleum-based printing ink in their national newspaper.”
The fake notice continued to state that the mentioned media houses were instructed to immediately put in place corrective actions in their printing presses to ensure that the ink used complied with the quality specifications in the Standard. It also said KEBS has put in place a 45-day window for the highlighted media houses to comply.
What damage has so far been caused to Nation and Standard?
Nation Media Group prints and distributes various publications, including The Daily Nation, The East Arican, Taifa Leo, and Business Daily.
On the other hand, newspapers under the Standard Media Group include The Standard and The Nairobian.
Fake news affects the public image of brands but the KEBS clarification is a relief to the publications.
Why is Nation Media Group trending?
Nation Media Group has trended today on X ( formerly Twitter) with some users claiming it is due to the cancer-causing ink claims, which KEBS has termed as fake.
The company is also trending with X users citing the publication’s biased reporting, claims to which Nation Media is yet to respond.
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