Manuel v Malema in the Supreme Court of Appeal

posted in Defamation, Disinformation, Fact v opinion, Fair comment, Fake news, Freedom of expression, Media law, Musings on Media, Reasonableness defence on by

The Supreme Court of Appeal handed down a significant (and lengthy) judgment on defamation law on 17 December 2020, in the defamation case brought by Trevor Manuel against the Economic Freedom Fighters.  You can read the judgment here

In short, the SCA held that the EFF had unlawfully defamed Manuel (ie they published a defamatory media statement alleging he as corrupt and nepotistic without any legal basis at all), and granted Manuel declaratory and interdictory relief.  The SCA referred the issue of whether the EFF should apologise to Manuel, and the quantum of damages, for oral hearing.

I wrote a piece in Daily Maverick a few days after the judgment: read it here . I also reproduce it below – as my students know, it’s always nice to be able to quote Shakespeare.

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Season 1 of media law podcasts now complete: Publish responsibly

posted in Defamation, Disinformation, Fact v opinion, Fair comment, Fake news, Freedom of expression, Media law, Musings on Media, Podcast on by

All five of our media law podcasts have now been uploaded.  You will find episode 5 here.

It is one of my favourites.  To properly understand the case we discuss – where two veteran journalists sued the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), and won – you need to go back over 30 years.  My guests are the journalists who brought the case – Thandeka Gqubule-Mbeki and Prof Anton Harber, accused by the EFF of being Stratcom agents.  Read the case before you listen to the podcast here.

For the full season 1 podcasts, you can find links in my blogs below.  Or if you prefer, search for “Webber Wentzel Legal Insights” wherever you get your podcasts (Apple, Google, Spotify).  You will find them easily (and other interesting podcasts from Webber Wentzel, eg the impact of COVID19 on the tech sector).   You can access the Spotify podcasts here.

 

 

 

 

More media law podcasts – disinformation and surveillance

posted in amaBhungane, Bulk surveillance, COVID-19, Defamation, Disinformation, Fake news, Media law, Musings on Media, Podcast, Privacy, RICA, Surveillance on by

Following the release of the very popular open justice podcast (episode 1), you can now listen to episodes 2 and 3.  Listen to all the episodes here or on Spotify or Apple.

In episode 2, I discuss disinformation and whether legal regulation is required, with William Bird of Media Monitoring Africa.  This was recorded before the COVID-19 disaster declaration – we now have, of course, a crime of publishing fake news about COVID-19.  See my previous blog on that crime here.

Then, in episode 3, I discuss unlawful surveillance – especially of journalists – with Sam Sole of amaBhungane, and Prof Jane Duncan, an expert in the field.  You can read Sutherland J’s famous judgment in favour of amaBhungane and Sam in their challenge to RICA here and my blog on his judgment here. We eagerly await the Constitutional Court’s ruling in the confirmation application, heard on 25 February 2020.  Incidentally, COVID-19 brought its own surveillance legislation – in the form of the track and trace regulations; read about them in my blog here.

Episode 4 – to be released next Wednesday – is on media ethics, with the Press Ombudsman Pippa Green, and Prof Glenda Daniels.  And we end the series the following Wednesday with the final episode where my guests are Thandeka Gqubule-Mbeki and Prof Anton Harber.  We take a deep dive into their defamation case against the Economic Freedom Fighters.

Hope you enjoy – and stay safe!

Criminalising fake news about COVID-19

posted in Access to information, Censorship, Fake news, Freedom of expression, Media law, Musings on Media on by

Criminalising fake news is usually not a good thing in a democracy.   These kinds of laws have frequently been abused by authoritarian regimes to punish critical reporting.  As panic about the spread of COVID-19 around the globe set in, so too did the dissemination of false information about the pandemic.

The South African government’s response was to create a criminal offence in its regulations issued last week about the pandemic.

While these regulations were being passed, somewhat ironically, I was on a panel at Webber Wentzel (streamed live over Twitter but not open to the public on account of social distancing guidelines) where Media Monitoring Africa relaunched its Real 411 campaign.  This campaign inter alia seeks to address disinformation on digital media.  I was honoured to share the panel with retired Constitutional Court judge Zak Yacoob – one of my favourite judges – and my former Webber Wentzel colleague, the brilliant Avani Singh.   You can watch a news report about the relaunch here and visit the Real 411 site here

Johan Thiel and I penned a piece for Daily Maverick on the South African government’s false Covid-19 news regulations.  The piece is here.  It was also republished by the UK media law site Inforrm here.

Another interesting piece on the issue is Advocate Michael Laws’ well-argued article in Daily Maverick, with a catchy title including “Corona Censorship”, here

I reproduce our Daily Maverick piece below.  The bottom line in my view is that whatever the wisdom of the fake news law, it would probably in this specific and exceptional context pass constitutional scrutiny.  This is not at all to say that false news laws generally are justifiable; they are not.  But this law sets the bar for prosecution very high – essentially only publishing information you know to be false about COVID-19 would be punished.   Freedom of expression cannot, at least in this context, be used to justify the publication of statements that the speaker knows to be false, and with the intention to deceive the public.

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Manuel v Malema and the legal consequences of fake news

posted in Defamation, Fake news, Freedom of expression, Media law, Musings on Media on by

The recent judgment of the High Court in Malema v Economic Freedom Fighters – available here is a very significant judgment in our defamation jurisprudence. I wrote an article for Daily Maverick – available here – which is my take on the judgment (and bear in mind that I acted for Trevor Manuel, the applicant, so full disclosure).

Here’s the article again:

“Fake news” – a term ironically made popular by Donald Trump – is a real problem for our democracy. This is not news which the publisher reasonably believes to be true because, for example, steps have been taken to verify the information.

Instead, “fake news” or disinformation, is news which the publisher knows is false, or is reckless as to whether it is true or false. Publishers who know they are publishing false news or are reckless about it, do not enhance any of the rationales for protecting free speech in our democracy. This is because lies do nothing to enhance truth-telling, individual autonomy or participatory democracy.

In the 17th century, the writer John Milton thought that the best way to deal with falsehoods was to leave them be; the truth would always out:

And though all the winds of doctrine were let loose to play upon the earth, so Truth be in the field, we do injuriously by licensing and prohibiting to misdoubt her strength. Let her and Falsehood grapple; who ever knew Truth put to the worse, in a free and open encounter.

If such an approach was ever acceptable, it is certainly entirely out of place in our modern digital age. The reach and potency of disinformation means truth is frequently a casualty of our public discourse. One need look no further than the frequent tweets of the president of the United States to prove the point.

Given its findings, the judgment handed down by the Johannesburg High Court on Thursday in the case brought by Trevor Manuel against the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) can be viewed as a significant victory against fake news. It shows that there is a place for the law to hold those who publish fake news accountable. And it shows that the law has real bite when it comes to redressing the harm fake news causes to one’s dignity and reputation.

The facts of the case are well-known. They begin with the recommendation of the Nugent Commission that a new commissioner of the South African Revenue Services be appointed by the President to replace Tom Moyane. Judge Nugent recommended that candidates for appointment should be submitted to a private interview by a panel of members selected by the president. The panel would then make a motivated recommendation to the President on the suitability for the appointment of the candidate.

The Minister of Finance announced the appointment of the panel with Manuel as its chair. The panel ultimately unanimously recommended Edward Kieswetter, and President Ramaphosa in due course accepted the recommendation.

The EFF published a statement on its Twitter account, which at the time of the tweet had about 750 000 followers. Julius Malema tweeted the statement to his 2 million followers. The statement understandably was widely covered in the media. The statement stated in relevant part as follows:

The Economic Freedom Fighters objects to the patently nepotistic, and corrupt process of selecting the South African revenue services’ commissioner.

In February 2019, the EFF sent a letter, and Parliamentary questions to the outgoing President Mr Cyril Ramaphosa and Mr Tito Mboweni, to specifically ask why they are conducting the SARS selection process in secret. It is confirmed that a panel chaired by former minister, Trevor Manuel, conducted secret interviews to select the SARS Commissioner, and this goes against the spirit of transparency and openness.

It has now emerged that the reason is that, one of the candidates who was interviewed, and favoured by the panel, is a dodgy character called Edward Kieswetter, who is not just a relative of Trevor Manuel, but a close business associate and companion.

Kieswetter used to be a Deputy SARS Commissioner, unlawfully appointed to that position by Trevor Manuel, when Pravin Gordhan was SARS Commissioner.

Within a week of the statement, Manuel said a letter demanding that the EFF undertake to desist from publishing the statement, remove it from their public platforms, and apologize. The EFF refused, and the stage was set for the legal battle that followed. A semi-urgent motion was issued forthwith.

Manuel contended that the sting of the statement is that he acted correctly and in a nepotistic manner in recommending Kieswetter to the President. The EFF, on the other hand, argued that the essence of the statement is their concern about the lawfulness of the appointment process. The EFF pleaded the defamation defences of truth and public interest, reasonable publication and protected comment.

Judge Elias Matojane in the Johannesburg High Court began by referencing the trite proposition in the law defamation that two conflicting values are at stake – freedom of expression on the one hand, and the right to dignity, on the other.

The judge held that Manuel had satisfied the requirements for an interdict in our law: he had a clear right to protect his dignity; had suffered and continued to suffer harm his reputation through the widespread dissemination of the statement; and had no alternative remedy given the refusal to apologise or take down the statement. There was also ongoing harm to the well-being of the country “as the public labours under the misapprehension that SARS is led by a person who was appointed for nepotistic and corrupt reasons”.

Judge Matojane easily reached the conclusion that the statement was defamatory. The test is that of the “reasonable representative of users of Twitter who follow the EFF and Mr Malema and share his interest in politics and current affairs”. Such a reader would understand the tweet to mean that Manuel is corrupt, nepotistic and conducted the appointment process secretly in a deliberate attempt to disguise his familial relationship with Kieswetter. This understanding would undoubtedly tend to lower Mr Manuel’s reputation in society.

Moreover, said Judge Matojane, none of the EFF’s defences came to the assistance. They had failed to prove that the sting of the statement was true – ie that Manuel was corrupt and nepotistic. Manuel had recused himself from the interview with Kieswetter and had disclosed the fact that there was once an employment association between them. This was not proof that he was biased or acted in a nepotistic manner.

The EFF also failed to show that they had published the tweet reasonably. In this context, in a major development of the law, Judge Matojane held that the reasonable publication defence is not only available to the media: “Because of social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook and others, ordinary members of society now have publishing capacities capable of reaching beyond that which the print and broadcast media can“. But on the facts, this development did not assist the EFF. They relied on an undated SMS from a confidential source about Manuel’s alleged relationship with Kieswetter, and had taken no steps to verify the allegations, nor given Manuel an opportunity to respond before publication.

The final defence relied upon by the EFF was just as unsuccessful – the protected comment defence failed, held Judge Matojane, because the EFF could not show the underlying facts about Manuel were true. In any event, they acted with malice, because they published “with reckless indifference as to whether it was true or false”. They also kept the statement on line despite its falsity. This showed spite and animosity.

It followed that Manuel should be entitled to remedies for his harmed dignity and reputation. The Court awarded a package of vindicatory remedies. It declared the allegations about him to be false, unlawful and defamatory; ordered the EFF to remove the statement and apologise within 24 hours; and interdicted them from publishing a similar statement in the future. The Court also awarded Manuel R500, 000 in damages (which he intends to donate to VBS pensioners who were victims of the collapse of the bank), and punitive costs. The EFF have lodged an application for permission to appeal.

The Manuel case is of great significance in our jurisprudence. First, going by way of application and not trial proceedings afforded Manuel much quicker and meaningful relief.

Secondly, the Court’s application of basic defamation principles to social media should give pause to those knowingly, recklessly or unreasonably publishing false statements to a wide audience: there are serious legal consequences for publishing fake news. You remain accountable for your speech.

Thirdly, there will be no deleterious consequences for free speech as a result of the judgment. It has always been the case that a publisher who publishes the truth (in the public interest) or acts reasonably , or expresses opinions (even robust and extreme opinions), will be protected. We have patriots like Manuel to thank for the fact that we now have a constitutional right to free speech, and it should always be jealously guarded. This judgment does nothing to undermine that protection.

And finally, law can play a role in challenging fake news and reversing at least some of the harms the disinformation has caused. The decalaration of falsity relief, for instance, is a defamation remedy I have always thought to have great potential. It tells the public where the truth lies, and thereby corrects the public record for the good of our democracy. The law is only one tool – and an imperfect one at that – to address fake news, but the principles adopted in the Manuel case take our law in the right direction.