Many ignorant people like to abuse everything including the use of the internet. In this ICT day and age, there is a growing dangerous trend of rushing to be the first to break the news of events including the death or injury of people without considering the adverse emotional, psychological or legal implications of such negligent actions. No trained or ethically aligned journalist will do so but some self-styled bloggers or social media partakers gleefully record videos of the dead or gory accident scenes and circulate it (on social media, broadcast it on podcasts or publish it as screaming headlines on social media handles) all in the name of “breaking news. These ignorant folks forget to extend the elementary and basic CONTENT WARNING FOR VIOLENCE to the effect that “THIS VIDEO OR PICTURE CONTAINS SCENES OF GRAPHIC VIOLENCE THAT SOME VIEWERS MAY FIND DISTURBING. VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED! That is professionalism at work.
It is worse, if the news is of death is false and unfounded, yet many will not care to crosscheck, verify or confirm before seeking to create content with such sad and unsettling news. This is very wrong, insensitive and clear manifestation of legal ignorance and emotional unintelligence. Death of one should diminish all. Well, ignorantia neminem excusat (ignorance of the law is no excuse), hence this public enlightenment intervention. The law may be an ass, but only fools ride it. There is nothing wrong in breaking news but it must be done responsibly in order not to cause physical injury, emotional or psychological hurt to others. People handle information concerning the death, hurt or injury of their loved ones or relations differently. Only few people take such bad news with equanimity or psychological calmness. Most react violently hurting themselves in the process. Some even take their own lives or slump and die while some may slide into psychological depression or become paralysed or emotional wreck.
A word of caution to all- if the deceased is not closely related to you, do not recklessly break the news, allow the news to break from the rightful quarters and you can thereafter take it from there. Nigerian internet users and social media influencers looking to attract followership so as to claim stipends from online content creation must learn to respect family privacy rights or be prepared to bear the legal consequences for their reckless and slipshod actions. In the event of actual death, hurt or injury of anyone, the best place to break it is not on the internet or other public information platforms (except if it is targeted at eliciting emergency response in the case of injury). The most responsible way to break such sad news is to take the emotional state and psychological disposition of those enjoying conjugal or filial affinity or connection with the dead or injured into account. Temerarious, reckless, rash or insensitive effrontery in handling the news of death or injury of anyone by busybodies or meddlesome interlopers is an actionable tortious wrong. In law, a bad news bearer can be proceeded against for nervous shock claims brought by a person who suffered pure psychiatric or psychological injury following the mischievous or reckless way the news was broken. A malicious or bad news breaker will be adjudged legally liable for the tort of nervous shock if he caused psychological or psychiatric injury to another fellow as a result of circumstances that he ought to have foreseen to be capable of causing a person of normal fortitude to suffer a recognisable psychiatric illness if reasonable care were not taken.
It is worst, morally and legally unpardonable, to announce the death of someone who is alive and as some foolishly do. Many Nigerians are fond of this idiotic behaviour, perhaps unaware that they could be held legally accountable. Sometime in the month of May 2024, the false news broke out that the elder statesman and former Military Head of State Ibrahim Babangida had died. One of his aides, Alhaji Mahmud Abdullahi, countered that nothing was wrong with the former Military Head of State and described the death rumour as the price General Babangida has to pay for being popular. Only recently, the nation was jolted to read the false, untrue and unfounded viral social media news that His Excellency Senator Rochas Okorocha had died in a London Hospital from “acute gorilla” (whatever that means). Meanwhile, the gentleman is alive, well and going about his normal business within Nigeria. Notwithstanding this indubitable fact, wicked and atrocious fellows who did not either care to confirm the news or take the reality of his being alive as contained in the prompt press release put out by his Special Adviser on Media, Chief Sam Onwuemeodo, continued peddling, posting and reposting the fake news on various social media platforms. The statement had truthfully clarified among other things that “Okorocha has never had even headache since he left office as Governor of Imo State in 2019” and that “he was available in Imo State last week as Late Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu was buried and even hosted friends in his Owerri residence, including the Deputy Speaker House of Representatives, Rt. Hon Kanu.” The press release also stated that “within the week, the former Governor attended the Night of Tributes held for departed former Minister and Governor of Old Abia and Ebonyi States in Abuja, Dr Ogbonnaya Onu.” Certainly, the purveyors of such fake news and the administrators of social media platforms where such untrue news was posted did not know that the defence of justification does not avail false and untrue publications. Needless to emphasise that this embarrassed the victim, traumatised his family members, friends and well-wishers. No responsible journalist or media house will post such devastating news without crosschecking its veracity or authenticity. It can only happen with quack media houses involved in yellow journalism, hack writers or internet bandits.
Given the wide and wild nature of information flow via the internet, a responsible and responsive Administrator or Moderator of a social media platform or blog must make “In House Rules”* outlining in very clear terms to members what must not be posted especially unverified news or information in order to be safe from legal sanctions and to promote the generally known Community Standard. The legal basis for this “In House Rules” cannot be faulted. Any poster remains legally liable for all offensive posts “forwarded” or “copied and pasted” as none of them is a legal defence or can absolve the poster or “forwarder” or “copier” of legal culpability or liability or answerability. More fundamentally, an Admin or Moderator of an internet platform does not enjoy legal immunity. Under our laws, the Administrator or Moderator of a social media platform is presumed to be the owner of the platform. This is a rebuttable presumption of law and the burden of rebuttal rests on them. The platform Moderator or Administrator is jointly and severally liable for all offensive posts made via his or her medium. Apart from the general provisions of our criminal and civil laws, the Cybercrimes Act is very explicit on this. A moderator or Admin is therefore under a strict liability to make sensible “In House Rules to regulate what may or may not be posted on his or her platform apart from general community standard, failing which, he remains liable. Members of a platform must comply with the “In House Rules”. Any platform member uncomfortable with this can exit himself or be shown the way out by the Admin or Moderator. Rules must be obeyed!
Meanwhile, those who announce the death of others will also die. Death is an inevitable end. Let all be warned that there is no trophy to be won in being the first to publicly break the news of the death or injury of anyone not closely related to you or falsely peddling the news of the death or indisposition of anyone as you may be courting legal action based on the tort of nervous shock.
A new normal is possible!
