Source: AFP
Female journalists face greater threats online during their work and the trend is growing, an expert told an international conference in Italy this weekend.
“There is significant potential for online violence to escalate into offline harm,” said Julie Posetti, director of research at the International Center of Journalists (ICFJ).
“Women tend to face greater threats online,” she told delegates at the Perugia International Journalism Festival on Saturday. And, he added, “the type of threats they face are increasing.”
This toxic environment is “facilitated by Big Tech companies,” he added, accusing them of a “failure to take responsibility.”
In a joint UNESCO/ICFJ study in 2022, nearly three-quarters of women journalists surveyed said they had experienced online violence or abuse in connection with their work. They interviewed 900 journalists from 125 countries.
![](https://images.yen.com.gh/images/99abea4700017ee6.jpg?impolicy=cropped-image&imwidth=256)
![](https://images.yen.com.gh/images/99abea4700017ee6.jpg?impolicy=cropped-image&imwidth=256)
Read also
Elon Musk’s X fights Australian police over church stabbing posts
Online attacks include insults, sexist and sexual comments and physical threats, including death threats to journalists and their families, the conference heard.
Increasingly sophisticated attacks include blocking accounts, hacking, posting personal photos and creating “deep fakes” – fake sexual images of people without their consent.
Violent threats tend to increase when combined with discrimination linked to skin color, religion or sexual orientation.
Physical violence
Posetti and two other researchers have produced a guide and toolkit on the topic aimed at journalists, together with the Organization for Co-operation and Security in Europe (OSCE).
Filipino journalist Maria Ressa, the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize winner, was a victim of online abuse, as she explained in the ICFJ-UNESCO report.
“I was a war correspondent for CNN for two decades, but nothing in the field prepared me for the orchestrated, misogynistic attacks against me and our news agency Rappler,” she said.
![](https://images.yen.com.gh/images/3b387bb843ca362d.jpg?impolicy=cropped-image&imwidth=256)
![](https://images.yen.com.gh/images/3b387bb843ca362d.jpg?impolicy=cropped-image&imwidth=256)
Read also
The relentless rise of artificial intelligence presents journalists with difficult choices
The BBC’s disinformation specialist Marianna Spring received an avalanche of abusive tweets last year, threatening to have her kidnapped or have her throat cut.
Much of the abuse followed her investigation into the takeover of social media network X, then known as Twitter.
In some cases, online threats can translate into physical violence.
A fifth of the women surveyed said they had experienced attacks or insults in real life linked to online abuse.
The consequences can be far-reaching, with some journalists potentially discouraged from covering sensitive issues and some choosing to opt out of the industry altogether.
Paris-based media rights campaigners Reporters Without Borders (RSF) have warned that this kind of harassment is a new threat to press freedom.
Developing countermeasures
French journalist Nadia Daam told AFP she received a flood of hate mail in 2017 after a column criticizing an online forum.
Since then, she’s moved house twice and tends to stay off social media, but says she still gets cyberbullying messages and “it just doesn’t work the same anymore.”
![](https://images.yen.com.gh/images/44fa30c62f1e7593.jpg?impolicy=cropped-image&imwidth=256)
![](https://images.yen.com.gh/images/44fa30c62f1e7593.jpg?impolicy=cropped-image&imwidth=256)
Read also
Microsoft is teasing a realistic avatar AI technology, but not giving a release date
However, she believes there is more awareness of the problem now, saying she believes the wider industry is “talking more about cyber harassment”, with tougher legal penalties.
Freelancer Melina Huet has covered the war in Ukraine as well as the Israel-Hamas conflict and said she regularly receives online threats related to her coverage.
“I received beheading and rape threats on Instagram,” she said. “Perpetrators can easily recreate accounts, there is impunity.”
Some media have put protocols in place to try to deal with cyberbullying.
Jessica Ziegerer is an investigative reporter for the daily HD Sydsvenskan and regularly receives hostile messages.
“Before we publish a sensitive article, we have a meeting with security experts and look at all aspects” both online and offline, he said.
Source: AFP