Online harassment of journalists: a threat to democracy

What can be done to track and counter online hate speech campaigns against journalists?

As a Knight-Wallace Fellow, journalist and international media consultant Elodie Vialle spent the last year studying best practices, tools, and protocols to counter online harassment of journalists, in particular female journalists.

Journalists are increasingly harassed in the US and in other countries as a way to discredit them and to promote official narratives. Going offline is not possible for them, as they use social media to seek information and share their stories, in particular in the context of Covid19. One-third of female journalists envision leaving the profession because of online abuse, according to the International Women Media Foundation. This threat to journalism is a freedom of speech issue, undermining the quality of the public debate and democratic processes.

Elodie will present different solutions she explored during her year as Fellow, showing how collaboration between researchers and journalists can help to counter disinformation and hate speech campaigns. She will be joined by Jason Reich, Vice President of Corporate Security for The New York Times Company, who will comment on solutions implemented by newsrooms.

Suggested Speaker(s)

  • Elodie Vialle
    Knight-Wallace Fellow, University of Michigan
  • Jason Reich
    Vice President of Corporate Security, The New York Times Company