€10,000 Penalty For Posting Offensive Meme Targeting Down Syndrome In Malta
A 29-year-old from Naxxar, Luke Mihalic, has landed a hefty €10,000 fine for posting an offensive meme on Facebook that targeted individuals with Down’s Syndrome.
Magistrate Yana Micallef Stafrace, presiding over the case, found Mihalic guilty of misusing computer and telecommunications equipment, Times of Malta reported.
However, he was cleared of a hate crime charge because, at the time of the meme upload, it wasn’t yet considered an offence.
This controversial meme was shared in April 2020 within the Facebook group “Uncensored Jokes Malta.”
The meme featured an image of an unidentified person with Down’s Syndrome, accompanied by a caption that read: “Website is Down” “Oooh, me too!”
The meme sparked outrage and was reported to the police by Oliver Scicluna, the former Commissioner for Persons with Disability, after people who found it offensive reached out to him.
The court’s verdict was crystal clear. It stated that when Mihalic decided to share this post, he knew exactly what he was doing. His intention was to use social media as a platform to mock and demean individuals with Down’s Syndrome, perpetuating the harmful idea that they are somehow inferior and do not belong in our inclusive society.
The magistrate had this to say about the matter: “By no stretch of the imagination can one say that this is artistic expression, satirical, comic, or cultural. The court considers the meme a threat to those people with Down’s Syndrome who are integrated into a society that is meant to be inclusive.”
It’s worth noting that Mihalic was cleared of the hate speech charge. The reason? The law only changed in December 2021, making hate directed towards persons with disabilities a criminal offense. Prior to that, such actions weren’t legally considered hate crimes.
What do you make of the hefty fine?
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