Use social media to build, not destro

The Monitor Editor | Wednesday March 25, 2026 06:22

It is a warning flare to every Motswana who logs onto social media. As a country, we have reached a point where the line between robust debate and outright destruction has become dangerously blurred. At face value, Mabeo’s response, which seeks an apology and threat of a defamation suit, might seem severe to some. But we cannot ignore the context. The comment in question did not offer a policy critique or question a political decision.

It accused a public figure of being a drug user based on nothing but reckless speculation. Such words have weight. In Botswana, the courts are increasingly clear that defamation is not just a civil wrong; it can land an offender in prison for up to two years.

Social media is meant to be a town square; a place where Batswana could connect, share ideas, and hold leaders accountable. However, as things stand it has become, in too many cases, a battlefield of insults.

We hide behind keyboards and profile pictures, forgetting that the person on the receiving end of our anger is a fellow citizen with a family and a reputation to protect.

Freedom of expression is a right we cherish, but it is not a licence to destroy. You have the right to disagree with a politician’s policies. You have the right to demand better services. What you do not have is the right to spread lies about a person’s character simply because you disagree with them.

We are calling on Batswana to pause and think before they type. Use social media to build. Ask hard questions, yes, but do so with facts. Challenge your leaders, but do so with respect. If you see a comment that crosses the line into hate speech or baseless accusations, do not engage in kind. Report it, or simply scroll past.

Let this case be a lesson. The “keyboard warrior” culture that encourages us to say the nastiest thing imaginable is not a game. It has real consequences: legal fees, damaged reputations, and a coarsening of our national character.

Let us prove that we are better than the trolls. Let us use these powerful platforms to unite rather than divide, to engage constructively rather than offend carelessly.

Because in the end, a nation that respects each other’s dignity online, is a nation that will respect it offline too.