Online Abuse Stifles Women Journalists Around The Globe

Online Abuse Stifles Women Journalists Around The Globe

In the third post of the online violence against women series, Dr Michelle Ferrier – founder of Trollbusters – explains the consequences of online abuse for women journalists and how the absence of redress has changed the way they approach their work.

For many journalists, critiques and insults are a badge of honor. A few slings and arrows are considered part of the job of ‘afflicting the comfortable and comforting the afflicted’. These attacks become a mark that you must be doing something right if ‘they’re coming after you’.

However, the letters to the editors and emails of old have given way to online abuse that ranges from gendered barbs and insults about looks to explicit rape and death threats. From online impersonations to the pile-on effect of smart mobs and political operatives, increasingly journalists are finding that in the age of social media, online harassment has short- and long-term consequences that cannot, and should not, be ignored.

Read more article here.

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