Prime
Sieve content before posting
What you need to know:
- The Ugandan Constitution empowers all citizens to have the right to freedom of speech and expression.
In the era of social media, every one of us with a presence in one of the platforms like Instagram, Twitter, Facebook or WhatsApp enjoys, not the freedom of press, but the freedom to press the “send” button.
While the press is governed by a host of regulations and often subjected to judicial review, the average Ugandan using social media to transmit information enjoys literally unfettered and the dangerously unregulated freedom to publish information, be it the ones created by them or those that are forwarded.
The Ugandan Constitution empowers all citizens to have the right to freedom of speech and expression. Several expert and judicial interpretations have already very clearly laid down that such freedom is not absolute but subject to reasonable restrictions as laid down in the Constitution which empowers the State to frame laws or regulations for, among others, maintaining public order, decency or morality.
However, if these Constitutional provisions are to be the touchstones of social media posts, there is not much reluctance to say that a vast majority of the posts will fail the noble intentions of the framers of our Constitution.
People have started believing social media posts to be the gospel truth and use the information contained therein even for medical conditions. It is not limited to medical “advice” but expands to all realms of life and at times even death. Unverified and uncertified information with the tag “forwarded as received” has substantially contaminated the social media space with very serious repercussions.
We have shown that we can be quite adamant when it comes to being regulated while posting on social media as we see it as an interference to the constitutionally guaranteed right to freedom of speech and expression, completely overlooking the responsibility that comes with such freedom and our duty to be conscious of the negative impact a wrong post can create.
Quite often, social media is being used for defaming people, organisations, brands and establishments. Personal grudges are being touted as social causes. There are quite a few people who have assumed a great degree of self-importance and if they are in a crowded restaurant or a doctor’s clinic, it is not uncommon for them to use the possibility of a damaging social media post to get some undue attention. Not wanting to deal with needless negative publicity, such coercive demands are usually dealt with. The phenomenal increase in use of the internet and the consequent surge in social media postings have led to an alarming increase in cyber crime and a huge volume of pornographic material being circulated, often being viewed by school boys and girls under the age of fifteen. They now have symbols and signs so that parents cannot know what they are up to. There’s no need to elaborate that this is one of the prime reasons for sexual offences.
We suffer from a compelling urge to forward information without verifying its veracity and appropriateness. Just like the news channels, we are obsessed that we should be the first ones to give the news, never mind if it is totally false. Cases are tried and decided on social media even before investigation into an offence commences. There is a general ignorance about the right to privacy of an accused person. The society at large has become increasingly judgmental without caring to verify facts and without any regard to the privacy of another person. It is only when one becomes the victim of social media abuse that the pain it can cause is understood. Meme creators, overzealous to establish a name for themselves, often overstep their right to be creative and end up hurting a lot of people.
Of course, social media has its positives too. There is a lot of good information available which can be useful in many spheres, including spirituality and motivation. Inspiring stories from daily life can reach millions of people with great ease, something that even mainstream media struggles to do sometimes.
Dissemination of information intended for a large audience can be achieved without much fuss. A very significant area where social media makes a positive impact is blood donation, the donor and the recipient are connected quickly through posts on social media. It is possible to get effective and expeditious medical advice from experts from any part of the world by sharing reports and images on WhatsApp. Law enforcement agencies are using social media to track down criminals and arrest them. Thereby saving considerable time and the list goes on.
We must sieve all content we post and if we exercise our freedom to press the “send” button with a greater degree of responsibility and sensitivity, we will collectively be a much better society that will be able to put technology to the best possible positive use.
Phillip Kimumwe
[email protected]
