“Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance.” This famous quote by George Bernard Shaw throws me into some serious thinking, but all I can say is that it is more right than wrong. False knowledge is truly harmful and dangerous for society.
Particularly on social media in these recent years, there has been a dangerous trend of false information and fake news being spread across various platforms. The false information may even include false accusations of harassment, abuse, character defamation, and other sorts of dangerous allegations.
There are hundreds of cases each year in Pakistan on behalf of genuine victims of harassment and other types of violence, whose voices would not otherwise be heard. The #MeToo movement has gained popularity because it brings attention to the prevalence of harassment and provides previously quiet victims a voice. While many of the claims are true, some are unfortunately false. Most of them do not take any legal recourse that challenges the credibility of allegations. Victim playing, on the other hand, is increasingly being used online to threaten, harass, and blackmail a victim for ulterior motives through social media.
The world saw a popular defamation case of the famous Hollywood actor; Johnny Depp VS Amber Heard, and strikingly both the jury and the loudest voices on the internet overwhelmingly sided with Depp when he was wrongly accused by his ex-wife. When individuals spread false information on social media, they undermine the cause of genuine victims while needlessly endangering the lives of innocent people which is wrong.
I believe it is crucial to provide a voice to individuals who are silenced on the internet and social media, whether they are those who have been wrongfully accused or are the victims of crimes. While I strongly support the idea of defending the right to freedom of expression in Pakistan, however, it’s also crucial to combat the spread of false accusations that damage people’s reputations, dismantle families and institutions, and even inspire violence and hate.
By using the internet, anyone can start a defamation campaign against an innocent individual. The results can be disastrous when this “cancerous evil” is coupled with a social media platform that has millions of daily users. Reputations may be destroyed in an instant when there is an endless audience.
Our honourable courts and the law ought to take more aggressive steps to provide defamation victims with protection as well. Courts may also be considering extending the standard definition of defamation by holding defendants/accused persons accountable for both their offensive messages and the remarks made by other users on their social media threads.
Even though most social media users and influencers have the power to harm others irreparably with a single click or touch, they are sometimes not aware of the consequences of endorsing and showing support for offensive postings. In these online defamation cases, Section 20 of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) – offences against the dignity of a natural person is invoked. This section makes “exhibition or display or transmission of any information” which “harms the reputation or privacy of a natural person” (online defamation) an offence punishable with imprisonment for up to three years or more and/ or a fine of up to one million rupees.
I had the opportunity to win an online defamation case recently before the Cyber Crime Court; Samama Randhawa VS Aisha Hussain and others that took four years in legal battle considering the slow proceeding system. The facts involved a girl spreading false information, hatred, and serious allegations against my client on different Facebook groups and social media accounts through her own and her mother’s social media accounts. She later on confessed to making these false accusations due to ulterior motives and publicly apologized after four years to my client.
Unfortunately, our society has a gender bias against men where they are always perceived to be the wrongdoers, however, this was one of the few cases in the history of Pakistan that proved how even men can be falsely accused and can be victim played. There is a gender bias as well in our society where only men are seen as offenders. Any gender bias is evil to society. Societies that value women and men as equal are safer and healthier Societies that value women and men as equal are safer and healthier. Gender equality is a human right. Everyone benefits from gender equality.
Our honourable courts and the law ought to take more aggressive steps to provide defamation victims with protection as well. Courts may also be considering extending the standard definition of defamation by holding defendants/accused persons accountable for both their offensive messages and the remarks made by other users on their social media threads.
