To report or not to report hate speech, that is the killer question reporters face

Zulu King Goodwill Zwelithini (R) gestures as he delivers a speech during a traditional gathering called Imbizo at the Moses Mabhida Football Stadium in Durban on April 20, 2015. Zwelithini denied whipping up xenophobic hatred in South Africa after he was accused of triggering violence that has left at least seven people dead and forced thousands from their homes. PHOTO | AFP

What you need to know:

  • One of the issues we discussed was hate speech. Should the media report hate speech? Should the South African media have reported King Zwelithini’s hate speech? The answer, almost unanimous, was yes.
  • Moses Kuria’s “typical and notorious Facebook posts” some time back in the Nation, Mr Stephen Auma said: “You can’t purport to fight hate speech by publishing it.
  • “Get rid of Mwalimu Andrew and his one-sided school diary (Staff Room Diary, Sunday Nation) and re-advertise to get the right Mr Mutahi for the Whispers column. Wahome Mutahi used to comment on current social, political and economical issues of the week with a light touch.”

The last time I was in South Africa, I was robbed at gunpoint at a hotel parking lot in Johannesburg. This time around I was more careful. I was constantly watching my back. But I knew I could not beat King Goodwill Zwelithini’s call to his people to get rid of black foreigners, whom he referred to as parasitic ticks.

Zwelithini is the king of the Zulu. He comes in the tradition of Shaka, Cetshwayo, and Dingane. In isiZulu, the king is called umlom’ongathethi manga (the mouth that tells no lies).

It was as a direct result of his hate speech that the makwerekwere — that is what they call us — have been hunted, beaten, killed, and driven from their homes and businesses in recent days.

I was lucky that I was visiting Cape Town, hundreds of kilometres away from the epicentre of the xenophobic attacks in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng (Johannesburg), where 35 public editors from 18 countries met on April 19-22 for their annual conference.

DEAL WITH IT
One of the issues we discussed was hate speech. Should the media report hate speech? Should the South African media have reported King Zwelithini’s hate speech? The answer, almost unanimous, was yes.

Prof Lizette Rabe, head of the Department of Journalism at Stellenbosch University, said the media must report hate speech because that is the only way society can deal with it.

As one of the public editors observed, hate speech occurs everywhere in the world but it is in Africa where it seems to have extreme outcomes if unchecked.

This is particularly true in South Africa, Rwanda, and Kenya, where historically hate speech has been an important trigger of ethnic conflicts.

Some of our readers think the best way of checking hate speech is not to publish it at all. For example, referring to the publication of one of Moses Kuria’s “typical and notorious Facebook posts” some time back in the Nation, Mr Stephen Auma said: “You can’t purport to fight hate speech by publishing it.

The Nairobi provincial commissioner threatened to deny students a permit (it was a requirement then) to hold a kamukunji (meeting). Dr Shem Ochuodho, who was our publicity secretary, wrote on a poster, ‘if the PC denies us a permit to hold a kamukunji then we shall convene a kamukunji to announce to comrades that there is no kamukunji’”.

Prof Caxton Muune says personality-based news sourcing is largely to blame for the escalating hate speech in the media.

My take is that hate speech should be reported but only in such a way that it does not carry the intended impact of the hate-monger. But this is not always easy to do. So the Zwelithinis of Africa may continue to hold sway if their hate speeches are reported.

*****

‘If I were the editor this is how I would do the news’

Some readers say, directly or indirectly, how they would do the news if they were the editor. Here is a selection for this week, edited for brevity.

Henry Gekonde (a sub-editor with NMG):
“If I had the power, I’d change a few things to the letters page: Add another page; change the way we write the headlines atop the letters — one punchy line infused with humour is better, limit all readers to two letters a month, eliminate ‘The Cutting Edge’ and ‘Short Takes’, and publish more letters there. I don’t see the point of ‘The Cutting Edge’ in particular.”

Douglas Momanyi Ogato (writing from Merrivale, South Africa):

“Send a sorry note if a letter is not been chosen for publication. It would be nice and courteous.”

Archbishop E. Ngacha:

“Get rid of Mwalimu Andrew and his one-sided school diary (Staff Room Diary, Sunday Nation) and re-advertise to get the right Mr Mutahi for the Whispers column. Wahome Mutahi used to comment on current social, political and economical issues of the week with a light touch.”

Send your concerns or comments to [email protected]. You can also call or send text messages to mobile 0721989264, call 3288000 or visit the public editor at Nation Centre in Nairobi.