Katharina Buczek
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) recently conducted a study into the rising rates of online attacks against journalists. Their findings signified that, since the pandemic, women journalists have been at the epicenter.
“Online attacks on women journalists are increasing significantly… The pandemic has changed journalists’ working conditions, making them yet more dependent on digital communications services and social media channels,” the report began.
“The emergence of the ‘disinfodemic’ has also increased the toxicity of the online communities in which journalists work, making them ‘sitting ducks,'” UNESCO continued.
These attacks are at an all-time high, with nearly seventy-five percent of women journalists experiencing online violence.
Examples of these attacks include misogynistic harassment, abuse, and threats, digital privacy and security breaches that increase physical risks associated with online violence, and coordinated disinformation campaigns.
Most often, perpetrators use these methods in an attempt to either discredit or silence journalists.
But, they also result in much more severe repercussions– including mental health impacts and fears over physical security.
In response to this epidemic, the Thomson Reuters Foundation, in partnership with Jigsaw, has launched the first-ever tool allowing journalists to document and manage any online harassment.
This enables journalists to “regain control of their social media feeds, take action against perpetrators, and protect their well-being.”
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