Hate speech vs freedom of speech: Do you think before you post?
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Hate speech vs freedom of speech: Do you think before you post?

Updated | By Damon Beard

With the ability to express ourselves freely on social media for all the world to see, we must not forget that our views may be seen in a different light by others. 

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Listen as Emma Sadleir from The Digital Law Company weighs in on hate speech vs freedom of speech below, or read the details under the podcast. 

We’ve all seen it, or if we haven’t seen it, we’ve probably heard about it. People post a comment on social media, and what some people may see as freedom of speech becomes hate speech. There’s a big difference between the two, and it’s important to know where to draw the line.

Freedom of speech is the concept of the inherent human right to voice one's opinion publicly without fear of censorship or punishment. In the South African Constitution, it says: "Everyone has the right to freedom of expression, which includes freedom of the press and other media; freedom to receive or impart information or ideas; freedom of artistic creativity; and academic freedom and freedom of scientific research.” However, hate speech is an attack on the basis of attributes such as race, religion, ethnic origin, sexual orientation, or gender identity.

Read: Twitter wars and the hate speech bill

There have been a ton of cases in recent years showing how fine the line is between freedom of speech and hate speech. Who can forget Helen Zille's controversial colonialism tweet which shook social media back in March last year?

An hour after the tweet was sent from her account, she issued an official apology after many rolled her over the coals. 

The most recent hate versus freedom of speech has to be the case of South African actress and model Shashi Naidoo, who received countless death threats after sharing her views about Israel and Palestine on social media, going to the extent of calling Gaza a "s**thole". 

Although she went on to delete her comments, they were screengrabbed and circulated around social media, causing an uproar from many, including brands she is associated with. She promptly took to her social media shortly after to issue a teary apology. But was it a case of a little too late? 

It is with great humility that I step forward and not only accept, but again, sincerely and deeply apologise to all that I offended and hurt for my post in regard to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, and my lack of understanding in my initial apology to the Muslim community. This should of been to the Palestinian people in the first instance, and broader society as a whole. I apologise unconditionally, but I would also like to this opportunity to explain what happened with regard to my recent Instagram posts. I posted a picture with a DJ recently in Ibiza and the post attracted commentary from another Instagram user because he had played in Israel. In what I believed was defense of him, I reached out to a friend to help articulate a response and offer a secondary point of view, as to be honest, I didn’t know much about the situation (although it sure must have looked otherwise). I stupidly copied and pasted the response verbatim in a feeble attempt to appear smart on social media without reading it comprehensibly (I know), thereby entering an issue of world importance, I had no real fundamental understanding of - my biggest mistake. There is no spin. This is the truth. I expressed his worldview as my own, and for that I will forever live with the consequences. I agree with the commentary that it not only highlighted my ignorance on the issue and the way it was handled, but also made me seem uncaring and indifferent to the suffering of any human on this planet. I in no way wish to make excuses or expect people to forgive me at this time. I messed up. I know that, and I take full accountability. All that I hope to achieve is  to convey that I am sincerely sorry, and in a way thank every one who called me out, as I have learnt from this. No matter what ones beliefs are, there is always room for empathy and compassion. The last couple of days have shown me that there is a larger education that I need to undertake on issues facing humanity. I have read the commentary and will further not only educate, but re-educate myself . Words will never be enough to express how truly sorry I am. It will be in my actions going forward that I do better.

A post shared by Shashi Naidoo (@shashinaidoo) on

That's just two cases that stuck out in my mind, but my point is that there is a very fine line between hate and freedom of speech. With the ability to express our views at the click of a button, we need to be cognisant about what we post and talk about online and on social media - EVERYONE is watching. 

Also read: Proposed Bill looks at criminalising racism, hate speech

I have been known to be obsessed with proofreading my posts on social media before hitting post or comment. I do it because I am constantly aware that a simple comment could be taken in a different light.

How about you - do you become anxious when you post on social media for fear of saying the right or wrong things? 

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