It's not a free-for-all

Opinions may be published, but not non-factual insults.

- Ben Winks & Helene Viljoen

This week, the Independent Media group of newspapers was expelled from the Press Council of South Africa (PCSA) after it refused to comply with two rulings. The rulings found that opinion pieces had transgressed the wide boundaries within which the freedom to express one's opinion is protected.

One piece labelled News24 journalist Karyn Maughan a fraud, an apartheid-style disinformation agent, and a racist. Another described Gillian Moodie as a propaganda journalist, a member of a white boys' club, a DA plant in its newsrooms and a racist.

Neither of these articles were fact-based, which is one of the requirements rendering an opinion fair and justifiable. The other requirements are that the comment must be of public interest, not be misrepresented as fact, and without malice.

While the boundaries drawn by SA's constitution, SA courts, the law and the press code are wide, they are clear. By enforcing them the Press Council protects the right to freedom of expression from abuse, thereby safeguarding it.

The Moodie complaint