The chilling: a global study of online violence against women journalists
International Center for Journalists (ICFJ); UNESCO
(2022), 325 pp.
ISBN 979-8-218-09201-6
CC BY-NC-SA
"Online violence against women journalists is one of the most serious contemporary threats to press freedom internationally. It aids and abets impunity for crimes against journalists, including physical assault and murder. It is designed to silence, humiliate, and discredit. It inflicts very real psychological injury, chills public interest journalism, kills women’s careers and deprives society of important voices and perspectives. This ground-breaking three-year global study on gender-based online violence against women journalists represents collaborative research covering 15 countries. It is the most geographically, linguistically, and ethnically diverse scoping of the crisis conducted up until late 2022. The research draws on: the inputs of nearly 1,100 survey participants and interviewees; 2 big data case studies examining 2.5 million social media posts directed at Nobel Laureate Maria Ressa (The Philippines) and multi award-winning investigative journalist Carole Cadwalladr (UK); 15 detailed individual country case studies. The Chilling illuminates the evolving challenges faced by women journalists dealing with prolific and/or sustained online violence around the world. It calls out the victim-blaming and slut-shaming that perpetuates sexist and misogynistic responses to offline violence against women in the online environment, where patriarchal norms are being aggressively reinforced. It also clearly demonstrates that the incidence and impacts of gender-based online violence are worse at the intersection of misogyny and other forms of discrimination, such as racism, religious bigotry, antisemitism, homophobia and transphobia. Further, it identifies political actors who leverage misogyny and anti-news media narratives in their attacks as top perpetrators of online violence against women journalists, while the main vectors are social media platforms - most notably Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube." (Exexutive summary)
Contents
Foreword / Maria Ressa, 6
Executive summary and key findings / Julie Posetti and Nabeelah Shabbir, 8
1 Introduction and methodology / Julie Posetti, 16
2 Global overview: comparative analysis of incidence, impacts and trends / Julie Posetti, Nabeelah Shabbir, Diana Maynard, and Nermine Aboulez, 31
Types of online violence and their manifestations -- At the intersection of misogyny and other forms of discrimination -- Top sources and triggers of online violence against women journalists -- Impacts of online violence on women journalists and their journalism -- When online violence spills offline
3 Big data case studies
3.1 Maria Ressa: At the core of an online violence storm / Julie Posetti, Diana Maynard, and Kalina Bontcheva, 97
3.2 Carole Cadwalladr: The networked gaslighting of a high-impact investigative reporter / Julie Posetti, Diana Maynard, Kalina Bontcheva, and Nabeelah Shabbir, 115
4 What more can news organisations do? / Julie Posetti and Nabeelah Shabbir, 130
5 Platforms and vectors: Assessing Big Tech's responses to online violence / Julie Posetti, Kalina Bontcheva, and Nabeelah Shabbir, 169
6 Legal and normative frameworks for combating online violence against women journalists / Angelique Lu, Julie Posetti, and Nabeelah Shabbir, 201
7 Conclusion and recommendations / Julie Posetti and Kalina Bontcheva, 231
Appendix: Country Case Study Summaries
Brazil / Kate Kingsford, Luisa Ortiz Pérez, Carolina Oms, and Eunice Remondini, 250
Kenya / Fiona Chawana and Julie Posetti, 253
Lebanon / Nermine Aboulez, 257
Mexico / Yennué Zárate Valderrama, Luisa Ortiz Pérez, and Kennia Velázquez, 261
Nigeria / Omega Douglas, 265
Pakistan / Ayesha Jehangir and Fiona Martin, 268
Poland / Liana Barcia, Julie Posetti and Fiona Martin, 273
Serbia / Greta Gober, 277
South Africa / Greta Gober, Bojana Kostiæ, Nabeelah Shabbir, and Jennifer Adams, 282
Sri Lanka / Fiona Martin, Nirasha Piyawadani and Jenna Price, 285
Sweden / Glenda Daniels and Julie Posetti, 289
The Philippines / Sara Torsner, Greta Gober, and Julie Posetti, 294
Tunisia / Nermine Aboulez, 298
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland / Julie Posetti and Nabeelah Shabbir, 302
The United States / Julie Posetti, Silvio Waisbord, and Nabeelah Shabbir, 307
Executive summary and key findings / Julie Posetti and Nabeelah Shabbir, 8
1 Introduction and methodology / Julie Posetti, 16
2 Global overview: comparative analysis of incidence, impacts and trends / Julie Posetti, Nabeelah Shabbir, Diana Maynard, and Nermine Aboulez, 31
Types of online violence and their manifestations -- At the intersection of misogyny and other forms of discrimination -- Top sources and triggers of online violence against women journalists -- Impacts of online violence on women journalists and their journalism -- When online violence spills offline
3 Big data case studies
3.1 Maria Ressa: At the core of an online violence storm / Julie Posetti, Diana Maynard, and Kalina Bontcheva, 97
3.2 Carole Cadwalladr: The networked gaslighting of a high-impact investigative reporter / Julie Posetti, Diana Maynard, Kalina Bontcheva, and Nabeelah Shabbir, 115
4 What more can news organisations do? / Julie Posetti and Nabeelah Shabbir, 130
5 Platforms and vectors: Assessing Big Tech's responses to online violence / Julie Posetti, Kalina Bontcheva, and Nabeelah Shabbir, 169
6 Legal and normative frameworks for combating online violence against women journalists / Angelique Lu, Julie Posetti, and Nabeelah Shabbir, 201
7 Conclusion and recommendations / Julie Posetti and Kalina Bontcheva, 231
Appendix: Country Case Study Summaries
Brazil / Kate Kingsford, Luisa Ortiz Pérez, Carolina Oms, and Eunice Remondini, 250
Kenya / Fiona Chawana and Julie Posetti, 253
Lebanon / Nermine Aboulez, 257
Mexico / Yennué Zárate Valderrama, Luisa Ortiz Pérez, and Kennia Velázquez, 261
Nigeria / Omega Douglas, 265
Pakistan / Ayesha Jehangir and Fiona Martin, 268
Poland / Liana Barcia, Julie Posetti and Fiona Martin, 273
Serbia / Greta Gober, 277
South Africa / Greta Gober, Bojana Kostiæ, Nabeelah Shabbir, and Jennifer Adams, 282
Sri Lanka / Fiona Martin, Nirasha Piyawadani and Jenna Price, 285
Sweden / Glenda Daniels and Julie Posetti, 289
The Philippines / Sara Torsner, Greta Gober, and Julie Posetti, 294
Tunisia / Nermine Aboulez, 298
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland / Julie Posetti and Nabeelah Shabbir, 302
The United States / Julie Posetti, Silvio Waisbord, and Nabeelah Shabbir, 307
