Programmes – OnTheLine – Special feature: Voices Against Online Harassment
Online abuse against journalists works as a means to silence critical reporting. This audiovisual platform, part of OSCE RFoM #SOFJO project and IPI’s Ontheline programme, features a series of interviews with journalists and media experts on their experience coping with threats and harassment on the web
In some cases, Internet militias working on behalf of powerful state and non-state actors form intricate networks of bots and human-operated accounts on various social media platforms to target individual reporters or media houses. These campaigns aim to intimidate and smear critical journalists. IPI believes that a multidiscliplinary approach that includes media houses, governments, Internet companies and journalist organisations is needed to develop an efficient strategy to tackle this issue, which can be expected to grow as Internet penetration increases.
Arzu Geybullayeva, freelance journalist (Azerbaijan)
“It’s a dark place. I’m just so glad that I was able to get out from that dark place.”
Interview: Filmed by Javier Luque
Marija Vucic, investigative journalist (Serbia)
“I don’t want to think that my readers doesn’t deserve my work, this not why I became a journalist.”
Interview: Filmed by Javier Luque
Michelle Ferrier, Former journalist, founder of Trollbusters (US)
“Ultimately, I learned how to protect myself with firearms, so that when I went out in public, I would be able to protect myself.”
Interview: Filmed by Javier Luque
Julie Lalonde, Women’s Rights advocate (Canada)
“Yes, I am a Canadian white woman, who can’t speak in public without having a security protocol in place.”
Interview: Filmed by Javier Luque
Elana Newman, Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma (US)
“If somebody is throwing something at you, as human being we learn to duck. That’s our role. We are biologically programmed to protect ourselves. Yet journalists run towards danger in a way that I find admirable and to my benefit, so I can take decisions as a citizen.”
Interview: Filmed by Javier Luque
Holly Davis, CommunityRED; Manon Muti, Justice & Peace Netherlands
“Defamation campaigns online by trolls, by armies of trolls, just to break the reputation of one person – this is happening.”
Interview: Filmed by Javier Luque
Anna-Claire Bevan, Institute News Safety Institute (UK)
“The level of abuse that female journalists are suffering is causing many of them to leave the profession, which further down the line will have an impact on not just the audiences, but on people even thinking of coming into the profession.”
Interview: Camera and Video editing: Javier Luque
Florian Klenk, Editor-in-Chief, Falter (Austria)
“Two of our female journalists were subjected to intense abuse that focused on their bodies. Both decided not to go public because they didn’t want the images and insults to multiply.”
Interview: Jonas Vogt | Camera: Javier Luque | Video editing: Gregor Lehrl | Translation: Scott Griffen
Muna Duzdar, Austrian State Secretary for Diversity, Public Service and Digitalization
State Secretary Muna Duzdar details planned measures to counter online harassment of journalists
Produced and filmed by Javier Luque
Hanna Herbst, Deputy Editor, Vice News Austria
“Prior to the final round of the presidential election I received a number of rape threats. But rather than ‘I will rape you’ they usually read ‘You should be raped!’ “
Interview: Jonas Vogt | Camera: Javier Luque | Video editing: Gregor Lehrl | Translation: Scott Griffen | Producer: Michael Kudlak
Dunja Mijatovic, OSCE Representative for Freedom of the Media
“What is always missing … is the political will. Political will, first, to recognise that there is a problem that needs to be tackled and introduction of new laws. New resolutions [are] not going to solve it, we need action.”
Interview, camera, video editing: Javier Luque | Producer: Michael Kudlak
Jelena Gučanin, Journalist, Wienerin (Austria)
“Readers of course judge my last name differently. […] It begins with ‘Go back home’, ‘Go back to where you came from if you don’t like it here’ and ‘Be happy to Austria took you’.”
Interview: Jonas Vogt | Camera: Javier Luque | Video editing: Gregor Lehrl | Translation: Scott Griffen | Producer: Michael Kudlak
Ingrid Brodnig, Journalist and author of “Hass im Netz” (Austria)
“They emotionalise, they spread half-truths, they work with rumours.”
Interview and Translation: Scott Griffen | Camera and Video editing: Javier Luque | Producer: Michael Kudlak
Stefan Kaltenbrunner, Editor-in-Chief, Kurier.at (Austria)
“Three-quarters of a year ago we issued a directive to report everything that is even remotely illegal,”
Interview: Jonas Vogt | Camera and Video Editing: Javier Luque | Translation: Michael Kudlak | Producer: Javier Luque
Christian Burger, Head of Community Management, derStandard.at (Austria)
“We have recently strengthened our post-publication moderation and now always have two persons active monitoring the discussions and sometimes jumping in themselves.”
Interview: Jonas Vogt | Camera: Javier Luque | Video editing: Gregor Lehrl | Translation: Scott Griffen | Producer: Michael Kudlak