Assuming that there is absolutely no truth to followers? Sometimes addressing the mater
the statement, a number of legal options may privately, i.e. responding to the concern by
be applicable: messaging the poster privately, is the most
appropriate course of action. Some content
• Defamation – it may be appropriate for warrants no response at all. If you are unsure,
Pinecones Estate to sue the publisher it is always a good idea to call in the help of a
of the post for defamation. However, reputation expert.
defamation cases are notoriously very
costly and lengthy, and the awards in BEST PRACTICE
South Africa are usually very low. Prevention is always better than cure so, to
• Crimen injuria – Joe Bloggs may consider ensure that you are prepared in the event
laying a criminal charge of crimen injuria that you are the subject of a negative social
(infringement media post, here are some helpful tips:
of
dignity)
against
the
publisher of the content.
• Protection order – Joe Bloggs could
consider
obtaining
a
protection
order
• Appoint
a
qualified
individual
or
organisation who is tasked to deal
against the publisher of the content under with
the Protection from Harassment Act. and make sure that all board members
and
communications for the estate,
principals
are
aware
that
all
• Consider
guidelines
estate
communications on behalf of the estate WhatsApp
nature of the content, the quickest option and should be channelled through that person. groups can be a hotbed of negative
fastest way of achieving the desired result
content.
groups.
for
With cases like these, depending on the
Having
Estate
guidelines
WhatsApp
for
these
is usually a letter of demand from your legal • Ensure that anyone responsible for representatives requesting that the content managing the estate Facebook page is content
be deleted, and that the individual refrains aware of the legal responsibilities of a board, legal and aligned to the purpose
from publishing further. Facebook page administrator. In terms of
of South African law, the administrator of a guidelines, visit: www.thedigitallawco.com/
Facebook page is responsible for all user- whatsapp/10-tips-whatsapp-groups/
REPUTATION MANAGEMENT
groups can assist in ensuring that the
the
remains
group.
For
appropriate,
examples
above
of
such
While there are legal options available, often generated content on that page. If the the law is simply too slow. Even once the administrator does not remove negative/ • Enlist the services of a reputation
relevant legal action has been taken, the unlawful/illegal content on that page once management expert if you are uncertain
content has been viewed, shared, retweeted asked to do so, he or she could be as how to deal with negative content on
and/or screenshots have been taken and responsible for that content as the person social media.
shared. At this point, from a reputational who posted it initially.
perspective, the damage has been done. For
this reason, it is often advisable to manage
these situations reputationally.
While
it
is
very
tempting
to
. . .
Sarah Hoffman, LLB
become
Director, Digital Law Company
a
‘keyboard warrior’ and jump to the defence
of the estate, you should always consider
whether responding is the best way to deal
with the matter, or whether it will add fuel to
the fire. Sometimes a response creates what
reputation management experts refer to as
the ‘Barbara Streisand effect’ – drawing far
more attention to the post than it had in the
first place.
Before deciding whether to respond, and
how and where to respond, consider the
reputational harm of the content and the
scope of its reach. Has it been posted on a
neighbourhood Facebook group with 20,000
members and gone viral, or is it lurking on an
unknown individual’s Facebook page with 30
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INDUSTRY JOURNAL