Our Viewpoint | Trial by social media

In the age of smartphones, justice increasingly has a digital lens. A new trend is emerging in which viral videos are used to expose robberies, assaults and brazen acts of violence, often aiding arrest efforts. Several recent cases this year illustrate the pattern.

In East London over New Year, a viral video of a security guard being violently assaulted led to the arrest of two men. Again, this week, four people have been charged with assault following the viral video of a child being beaten on the side of the road in Oudtshoorn. In each case, it was not just law enforcement at work, but ordinary citizens pressing record.

However, the culture of sharing violent footage is often driven less by civic duty and more by shock value. Clicks thrive on spectacle, and in that frenzy, verification becomes the first casualty. The two now exist in a symbiotic ecosystem.

[paywall]

Citizen footage can expose wrongdoing, but journalism remains the necessary middle ground — the discipline that verifies, contextualises and protects against reckless harm. In a digital era where information travels faster than facts, responsible, ethical reporting is the firebreak. When reputations and lives are at stake, ethical journalism must have the last word.

[/paywall]