MEDIA
Former Huffington Post editor to challenge finding of blog hate speech
Appeal against the press ombudsman’s ruling on hate speech blog will be heard on Monday
The appeal against press ombudsman Johan Retief’s ruling that a blog calling for the disenfranchisement of white men amounted to hate speech is set to be heard on Monday. The blog, written under the false name Shelley Garland, caused a furore, which led to Retief finding against Huffington Post SA and Verashni Pillay resigning as editor. After publication it was established that the piece was penned by Marius Roodt, and that the online-only publication had failed to verify his identity. Pillay has appealed against the entire judgment, including the rulings that the blog was discriminatory hate speech and the comment was not protected. The South African National Editors Forum (Sanef) and Media Monitoring Africa (MMA) joined the appeal as amicus curiae. The bodies warn in heads of argument submitted to the Press Council’s appeals committee that by defining hate speech too broadly the ombudsman "formulated a test that is likely to stifle a multiplicity of voices that characterises a co...
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