In an explosive tweet published on June 24, Ruto launched a brazen attack on Standard Group, accusing the media house of using negative headlines to allegedly blackmail his administration.

In the rather curt statement posted on his official X account, Ruto claimed that what he described as “five days a week” of critical headlines and negative coverage of his government would not force him to give in to what he termed greed and extortion. 

The President specifically referenced the Standard Media Group's owner, Gideon Moi, asserting that persistent criticism of his administration’s record would not yield any concessions from the government.

Ruto maintained that Kenya belongs to all citizens, not to any individual or institution and also challenged his critics to intensify their scrutiny, stating that attempts at blackmail would never succeed.

"BLACKMAIL to yield to your GREED? NEVER. Kenya belongs to all Kenyans, not you alone. Jaribu 8 days a week. Do your WORST!"

This explosive statement immediately prompted concerns that the President's social media account has been compromised, with others terming the tweet unpresidential and others taking the post as the President's frustration over continued pessimistic headlines by the media company.

Others also pointed out that the tweet lacked grammatical excellence as the spacing, punctuation, and even the tone didn't match the professionalism expected of a head of State.

The remarks mark one of the strongest public attacks by Ruto against a mainstream media house since assuming office in September 2022.

The Standard has, in recent months, published a series of hard-hitting headlines scrutinising government policies, public expenditure, taxation measures, governance issues, and graft allegations involving state officials, with the latest focusing on promises made by the Head of State.  

The publication has also consistently highlighted the President's foreign travel schedule, government spending by the Executive, and expenditure within the Office of the President and the Office of the Deputy President.

Over the past few days, KTN News has been airing a feature dubbed 'The Gallery of Ruto's Lies,' which examines unfulfilled government promises and stalled infrastructure projects under Ruto's administration.

Several of Ruto's allies have repeatedly criticised sections of the media over their coverage of the Kenya Kwanza administration. 

The latest clash is likely to reignite debate over press freedom, media independence, and the relationship between the government and the Fourth Estate in Kenya. Citizen Digital