As more Kenyans take to social media daily, never has there been a better time to remind ourselves of the power of words. In the age of the unforgiving Internet, the adage “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me” no longer rings true. Words, whether spoken or written, have greater consequences than ever before.
If you’re past your puberty, unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know the artist born Kanye Omari West, formerly known as Kanye West, now going by the name Ye. It’s not just Ye’s name that has gone through a metamorphosis. As an artistic and business genius, he has managed to transform himself from a teenager selling simple musical compositions to other artistes, to one of the world’s best-selling music artistes, with over 160 million records sold. His foray into the world of fashion, in which he has collaborated with numerous multinational brands, saw his net worth rise to more than $2 billion.
On October 3, the “Hurricane” rapper turned heads at his Yeezy Paris Fashion Week show for wearing a shirt emblazoned with the words “White Lives Matter” on its back, a phrase adopted by neo-Nazi and white supremacist groups in response to the Black Lives Matter movement. The fallout did not stop Kanye from airing his controversial views. He doubled down on Twitter and Instagram, culminating in a tweet in which he promised to go “… death con 3 (sic) on JEWISH PEOPLE,” a bastardisation of “Defcon (Defence readiness condition) 3”, a US military term.
The consequences have been swift and far-reaching. From condemnation by fellow celebrities, to brands like Balenciaga and Sony cutting ties with the musician. Big shops like Gap and Foot Locker have dropped his Yeezy brand. Most consequential of all, Adidas has severed its relationship with Ye, a move that overnight, dropped his net worth from $2 billion to $400 million. Yes! A single tweet cost Ye more than $1.5 billion. That’s billion, with a B.
All this from saying the wrong thing or using the wrong words to express one’s views. Ye is only the latest in a string of celebrities who have faced backlash over impetuous words or rash actions. From Ashton Kutcher to Chris Brown, Madonna and Mel Gibson’s drunken anti-Semitic rant, the world has reacted vociferously to brain farts from prominent people.
Though ordinary people may not have the imaginable loss of billions of shillings to advise prudent use of social media, studies show that 90 per cent of employers consider a candidate’s social media activity when hiring, and 79 per cent of them have rejected a candidate based on what they found on their social media.
Two years ago, Tourism CS Najib Balala had to revoke Pauline Njoroge’s proposed appointment to the board of the Tourism Regulatory Authority after a public outcry over her Facebook post, questioning the importance of the Nairobi National Park. “It does not make sense that in a congested city like Nairobi, we can afford to have acres and acres of land in the name of a park when the city is literally bursting at the seams with people,” it read.
Posts or comments spreading fake news, sharing private information, publishing falsities and inciting ethnic hatred are a few of the social media activities that can land one in trouble. Much as most of the culprits claim protection by freedom of speech, no personal right is absolute. One person’s rights extend only to the border such rights share with his neighbour’s rights.
Don’t be surprised that that post you did in jest 10 years ago about the proclivities of a certain tribesman is the reason your job application letters always end in the rubbish pile.
