How to avoid defamation claims linked to WhatsApp messages

WHATSAPP screenshots, deleted messages, and voice notes are reshaping the country’s courtrooms according to legal expert Ann-Suhet Marx, Director and Head of Litigation at Gauteng-based law firm VDM Incorporated.

- ZELDA VENTER

“WhatsApp has become South Africa’s most trusted communication tool - and one of its biggest legal blind spots. From neighbourhood disputes to workplace conflicts to high-stakes business fallouts, WhatsApp messages are now at the centre of a growing number of legal battles.”

Marx said she’s seen WhatsApp change from just a messaging platform to a digital “paper” trail, with real legal consequences in recent years, leaving the public “dangerously under-informed”.

“WhatsApp has become the modern witness, but unlike traditional documents, WhatsApp messages are fluid, editable, and easily manipulated. That creates both opportunity and risk - especially when reputations are on the line.

Marx warned that under South African law, online defamation carries the same legal implications as statements made in print or broadcast media. For a claim to succeed, publication, defamation, wrongfulness, and intention or negligence must, among others, be proven.