Irish poet and playwright Oscar Wilde in his letter De Profundis said: “Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else’s opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation.”

And although he lived in a world without social media, between October 1854 and November 1900, his words still ring true.

The power of social media to alter opinions and beliefs is at times scary. The famous Spider-Man quote, ‘With great power comes great responsibility’, adds to the message that the South African Human Rights Commission’s Social Media Charter wants to give – public figures have a greater responsibility when it comes to divisive expression.

This is the final article in which Caxton Local Media unpacks the Social Media Charter. The article focuses on the role public figures play when it comes to the dangers of social media.

The public figures the charter refers to include politicians, government officials, traditional leaders, religious leaders, prominent business leaders, civil society leaders, celebrities and other influential figures.

“Public figures have a significant ability to influence the public’s perceptions, opinions and actions. This is because people look up to them as leaders and are, therefore, willing to take inspiration, direction, moral guidance or even instructions from them. Public figures often have a greater reach on social media in the form of a large audience of followers,” the charter states.

Because of their prominence and influence, the charter warns, these public figures should carefully consider their expressions – especially when it comes to discussing matters that touch on protected traits.

Protected traits are mostly traits that people do not choose (race and ethnicity). These are traits that people are born with and that form an unchangeable part of their identity as human beings. These traits form a core part of every person’s personal identity and shape deeply personal aspects of their life (religion and conscience).

 

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“[Public figures] should bear in mind that they have the power to influence public opinions and that their followers may take action against members of a protected group based on their words, which may have unintended consequences.

“Public figures should also be mindful that their words have the ability to create an atmosphere of hostility and intolerance, which could negatively affect the protected group,” the charter stresses.

The same goes for how public figures engage with other content.

“The content may contain a harmful prejudicial expression. This is particularly important because such content could receive greater publicity or legitimacy when shared or endorsed by a public figure. When a statement is being shared to critique such content, it should be clearly stated to avoid creating the impression that the prejudicial expression has been endorsed,” the charter explains.

Public figures in hot water

In recent years, several local public figures have had a run-in with the commission due to utterances they made on social media platforms.

One such example is Afrikaans singer Steve Hofmeyr who had to post a public apology on his Facebook page and pay a R100 000 fine over comments he made about the LGBTQIA+ community in April last year.

The commission also threatened to take EFF leader Julius Malema to court last year after he allegedly told red beret supporters that ‘you must never be scared to kill – a revolution demands that at some point there must be killing, because the killing is part of a revolutionary act’.

Civil rights organisation AfriForum earlier this year asked for feedback about the matter.

Use your ‘power’ for good

The charter encourages public figures to use their following for the greater good.

“The commission continues to urge public figures not to make statements that unjustifiably erode social cohesion and to use their influence to solve the problems that the nation faces, while upholding and respecting the dignity and equality of all people.”