Social media platforms have been rife with false claims, including one alleging that Kenya's president called for the killing of gay people and another that the United States ordered Uganda to legalise homosexuality.
"Politicians (in Kenya and Uganda) have tapped into populist homophobia to keep themselves relevant to the masses," said Nairobi-based political analyst and journalist Patrick Gathara.
"An anti-LGBTQ stance translates into one being accepted by voters."
Homosexuality remains a taboo across much of Africa, where gay people are often forced to hide their sexual orientation out of fear for their safety.
Opinion polls show that many East Africans believe that the lifestyle of LGBTQ people threatens traditional values.
Uganda announced on Monday that President Yoweri Museveni had signed into law a draconian bill prescribing harsh measures including the death penalty for "aggravated homosexuality" in certain circumstances, although Uganda has not carried out capital punishment for many years.
Gay sex is also a crime under colonial-era legislation in neighbouring Kenya whose President William Ruto recently declared that homosexuality was a Western import incompatible with his nation's "customs, traditions, Christianity and Islam".
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