Socialite pays the price for social media trolling

VICTIMS do have rights.

And now with social media trolling and defaming it is important for people to know exactly how they can defend themselves from online bullying.

Yesterday, socialite Joyce Molamu who accused media personality Uyanda Mbuli of having an affair with her alleged boyfriend, was sentenced to a R6 000 fine or face four months imprisonment for her Facebook post. Mbuli laid a crimen injuria case against Molamu for the defamatory statements.

Mbuli’s social media battle came to an end when the sentencing was handed down at the Midrand Branch Court.

The imprisonment was suspended for three years on condition that she attends 350 hours of community service and a treatment programme for a period of eight weeks.

Wearing an extravagant white dress and black high heels, Molamu stood in court to hear her fate after being charged with crimen injuria.

She was found guilty of defaming Mbuli by exposing her personal number on her Facebook page.

Mbuli and Molamu were involved in a nasty spat that began in July 2017 after Molamu took to Facebook, calling Mbuli a “stupid b***h”, as well as accusing her of stealing her man, businessman King Maseko.

Mbuli was not present in court but had this to say on the matter: “We are constantly forced to turn to the judiciary system to protect our basic human right to dignity, because we now live in an era where misrepresentation is just the order of the day and can be regarded as facts through social media and tabloids.

“I’ve been a victim of this for many years and I unfortunately can no longer allow it as I take my responsibility as a role model to many young ladies. I do not want them to be constantly mislead to follow the wrong footsteps.”

Molamu refused to speak to media once her sentence was handed down to her.

Social media expert and author of the book Selfies, Sexts and Smartphones, Emma Sadleir said defamation was a civil matter.

“So if someone defames you you just have to show that it was published, it referred to you and that it has hurt your reputation directly or indirectly.”

Sadleir said it didn’t matter whether the defamation occurred on a Whatsapp group or Facebook post, or whether it was shared among five people or five million people, as long as a third party had seen it.

The same rule applies to a user on social media as they do to a media house. Sadleir said in the chain of publication, there were two ways of sharing content.

“Often when we jump on the digital vigilantism bandwagon – name and shame people on a racist post for example, that’s ok if it is clear from the way you’re sharing it that you disagree with the way it is being shared, that you disagree with the content, that you are not just stepping into the shoes of the person who shared it.”

She added that everyone who has the ability to stop a post from being published was in the chain of publication.

Sadleir said in Mbuli’s case Molamu had posted her cellphone number.

“In South African law you are responsible for the content you share . . . if I shared that, I would be doing more harm.”

Sadleir said many people were lost in the ‘myth of anonymity’ where people thought they could do whatever they wanted to online without any consequences.