Redefining criminal defamation laws in South Sudan for enhanced press freedom: Lessons from Konaté v. Burkina Faso
Posted: 27 September, 2024 Filed under: Mayen Mangok Ruop, Namatirayi Ngwasha | Tags: article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, article 66(2)(c) of the Treaty of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), article 9 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, civil remedies, criminal defamation, criminal defamation laws, criminal penalties, cybercrime, defamation laws, disinformation, freedom of expression, hate speech, international human rights standards, Konaté case, Lohé Issa Konaté, media freedom, misinformation, press freedom, South Sudan Leave a comment
Author: Mayen Mangok Ruop
LLM Candidate, Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria
Introduction
Despite a global shift toward decriminalisation, 160 countries still maintain criminal defamation laws. These laws are often justified as targeting disinformation, misinformation, cybercrime, or hate speech. However, they frequently include vague language or impose disproportionate punishments, which can negatively impact media freedom and pose a broader threat to freedom of expression. While a few African countries have adopted the decriminalisation regimes, many countries still maintain strict defamation laws. In South Sudan, criminal defamation is frequently used for stifling journalists and restricting press freedom, thereby obstructing the nation’s democratisation efforts.
Misinformation and disinformation in the digital age and its impact on the information ecosystem
Posted: 5 August, 2024 Filed under: Nomyezo Mqhele | Tags: accurate information, credible information, discrimination, disinformation, farm attacks, freedom of expression, Freedom of Reach, freedom of speech, heavy social media dependency, human rights violations, imposter content, information disorder, information ecosystem, misinformation, reliable news, scams, social media, South Africa, traditional media, white genocide Leave a comment
Author: Nomyezo Mqhele
Multi-disciplinary human rights lawyer
Traditional media has been replaced with social media as a source of reliable news.[1] South Africa has reached 26 million social media users as of January 2024.[2] This represents a three-fold increase from 9.8 million users in 2014 and highlights the increasing dependence of people on social media instead of traditional media.[3] This heavy social media dependency creates space for information disorder to filter through. The pervasiveness of information disorder presents a serious threat to the information ecosystem, and to society, as it has the potential to significantly alter beliefs, behaviors and policy. Such information is rarely false, but it is used to distort understanding by including elements of accurate and inaccurate claims, making it complicated to judge fair and accurate information.
How legal frameworks on disinformation help suppression in Burkina Faso and Guinea
Posted: 17 February, 2023 Filed under: Dércio Tsandzana, Simone Toussi | Tags: Burkina Faso, Cybersecurity and Data Protection Act, digital communication platforms, disinformation, false news, Francophone, General Gilbert Diendéré, Guinea, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, international human rights standards, misleading documents, suppression, terrorism, transitional periods Leave a comment
Author: Simone Toussi
Digital Rights Researcher, Africa Region
Disinformation, also known as, “all forms of false, inaccurate, or misleading information designed, presented and promoted to intentionally cause public harm or for profit”, [1] is on the rise in Africa, aided by the evolving digital communication platforms. To counter disinformation, several African governments are using provisions in existing laws or enacting new laws that do not comply with international human rights standards[2] on freedom of expression and access to information. As of August 2022, no country in Francophone Africa[3] has enacted legislation specifically on disinformation, but the majority have provisions regulating disinformation in various laws.[4]
AfricLaw 