Freedom of speech is one thing, abuse of freedom of speech is another. We live in a world where anyone can get away with anything under the law of freedom of speech and it’s one of the evils plaguing social media. It has become an avenue where you can express views you dare not express in real life.
Reddit is notorious for this, and there are subreddits you would read and feel bad about yourself afterwards unless you’re the type that remains unfazed with racial slurs and hate speeches. It’s agreed that censorship on social media exists, but it appears nudity is considered a bigger problem that racism, extreme tribalism and hate speeches.
The comment section on Facebook sometimes is always more interesting than the actual post. I was going through the comments on a post the other day when I saw this comment from a Facebook user:
I reported the post to Facebook but got this reply:
I normally ignore posts like this as I see them almost everyday on Facebook, what prompted me to report the post was this phrase threatening violence:
I will kill you and your people when the time comes… our people will begin to kill you bastards…
For a country that has previously gone through a civil war with some people foreseeing another considering the visible divide along ethnic lines, this is a cause for concern and shouldn’t be treated just as an empty threat of violence. As a matter of fact, showing this type of hate speech to the perpetrator’s employer might warrant a sack letter. How far does this has to go unchecked on social media?
Obviously, you can’t say this in real life to someone else without getting sued. Social media has become a tool used to abuse freedom of speech. This isn’t the first post I’m reporting on Facebook. If it were to be a case of nudity or fake identity, the response would be swift and justified.
Perhaps it’s time to realize there are bigger problems on social media than just nudity.