This workshop will provide journalists with tools to do three things: first, to identify vulnerabilities on their digital footprint that are often weaponised by trolls; second, to assess the potential impact of attacks on reporters; and finally, to adopt the best approach to combat attacks even with limited resources.

• You will learn to conduct a self-doxing exercise. You will put yourself in the attacker’s shoes and learn the techniques and tools they use to gather personal information on a target.
• You will learn how to analyse the type of online violence directed at you, giving you the power to decide on the best course of action.
• As a group, we will explore the most effective measures to minimise both the professional and emotional toll that smear campaigns and online hate take on you.
• Based on this analysis, you will build a step-by-step guide to react to online hate.
• There is no silver bullet against online hate and smear campaigns, especially when they are part of a coordinated disinformation campaign to create noise and discredit the work of journalists. Still, you will learn how to put your journalistic skills to work to combat the scourge of online harassment.

The workshop is structured in 4 modules:

• Module 1: Introduction of the trainer, host and participants
• Module 2: Self-doxing exercise. Analyse your own digital footprint and identify what personal information can be used by trolls against you.
• Module 3: Build your own plan of action: We will explain the analytical approach to attacks so that journalists can respond rationally.
• Module 4: Exchanging experience, building a network: We will put into practice the analytical approach through a case study.

Meet the trainer

Javier Luque is the Head of Digital Communications for the International Press Institute, where he coordinates advocacy and communication on IPI’s digital platforms. He has worked on the issue of online hate against journalists and media organisations since 2014. His research on this topic has been quoted by media worldwide such as The Guardian, The British Journalism Review and Bloomberg News. In 2018, he directed “A Dark Place”, his third film documentary, which premiered at Vienna’s This Human World film festival. He has also worked as a consultant for the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media for their project on Safety of Female Journalists Online. Before joining IPI, Javier worked as a broadcast and multimedia journalist for local and international news organisations.