Forwarding hate speech still constitutes publication and it promotes hate speech, the Bloemfontein High Court ruled
A Mangaung councillor's attempt to distance herself from racist and defamatory WhatsApp messages by claiming she merely forwarded them has failed, with the Bloemfontein High Court ruling that sharing hate speech is no different from publishing it.
The court upheld an earlier Equality Court finding against Sibongile Tsoleli, confirming that forwarding offensive messages targeting former Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality speaker Stephanie Lockman-Naidoo, her husband and the Indian community amounted to hate speech and racial discrimination.
The judgment reinforces a growing legal principle in South Africa's digital age: pressing the "forward" button does not absolve someone of responsibility for harmful content.
Tsoleli, who served as a member of the municipality's mayoral committee, had appealed against the Equality Court ruling that ordered her to pay Lockman-Naidoo R50,000 in compensation, issue a public and unconditional written apology, and apologise to the Mangaung Indian community.
