Step 1: Reporting
Creating an environment in which journalists feel comfortable in reporting online attacks must be a core goal of news organizations. A competitive work environment or a precarious job situation may generate concerns among journalists that reporting attacks will be perceived as a sign of weakness or lack of professional standards and will have negative repercussion on their career. But speaking openly about online attacks is essential to limiting their effects, including trauma and self-censorship. Newsrooms should create various channels through which attacks can be easily reported and which allow journalists to access support mechanisms.
Reporting form
Create an online form where targeted journalists can easily report an online attack. This form should be short and easy to fill in but cover all essential information related to the attack.
Support email
Create a specific email address where journalists can report online harassment. It should be made clear who the individuals are that will respond to emails sent.
Structured peer support network
Develop a formal network of staff members in the newsroom who are available to listen to the experiences of their peers who have been targeted with online abuse and walk them through ways of coping with the effects. Ideally, staff members who participate in these schemes should have specific training on how to perform a […]
Online harassment “health check”
Establish regular meetings between social media or audience departments and journalists to carry out a “health check” related to journalist’s work on social media or engagement on online comment sections. Social media editors and heads of audience can help journalists understand patterns behind online attacks and who might be behind them.
Regular informal conversations
Editors should be encouraged to create opportunities to discuss the issue of online harassment in group settings. Examples can include: – “Coffee talks” in which journalists from the newsroom or from other media outlets share their experience of coping with online harassment over coffee.
Regular discussions in editorial meetings
Regularly speak about online abuse in editorial meetings. One way for editors to raise the issue is simply to informally ask whether any journalists have recently been targeted.
Anonymous newsroom survey
Distribute an anonymous survey within the newsroom to take stock of the impact of online harassment and the efficacy of measures in place to combat it. Such surveys allow editors and management to understand the scope of the issue: How many journalists are targeted in online attacks, how their work has been affected, how strongly […]
Chat group within the department
Create a chat group on WhatsApp or a similar programme (Signal, Telegram, Threema, etc.) within the news department (large news outlets) or of the entire newsroom (small news outlets).
Step 2: Risk Assessment
After an attack against a journalist has been brought to the attention of the editor, the head of audience or online safety expert, a thorough assessment of the following risks is important to determine which type of support is the most appropriate: a) The likelihood that an online threat will turn into a physical attack. b) The damage caused by an online smear campaign to the reputation and credibility of the journalist and/or news organization. c) The emotional impact of the online abuse on the targeted journalist. Three key positions within the newsroom need to be involved in the assessment: Online Safety Expert, Editor and Head of Audience. Other relevant actors can be encouraged to participate.
Risk of physical attack
This section describes the criteria that can be useful in determining how likely it is that an online threat may turn into a physical attack. Environment: Any risk assessment needs to take into consideration the overall security environment in which the threats take place.
Risk of emotional impact on the journalist
Online harassment tends to target journalists in very personal ways, and journalists’ own individual strategies to deal with it differ. Therefore, a thorough assessment of the psychological impact of online attacks on the targeted journalists is important in order to prevent and counter any consequences resulting from attacks.
Risks to the reputation of journalists or news organizations
An important aspect of online harassment and smear campaigns is the damage they cause to journalists’ reputations and the trust journalists enjoy among their audiences and the community at large. Because trust and credibility are core aspects of successful journalism, it is in the interest of news organizations and journalists to take all necessary measures […]
Step 3: Implementing Support Mechanisms
Whenever journalists become targets of online attacks, threats, smear campaigns and harassment, it is the duty of the entire news organization – management and colleagues – to provide support and ensure a) that journalists feel safe in their job, confident that risks are being addressed in a serious and timely manner and that they are not left alone to deal with the consequences; and b) that a strong a strong message is sent to staff, contributors and audiences that an attack against one journalist is treated as an attack against the entire news organization. This section highlights measures that can be implemented following an attack.
Digital security support
News organizations should provide digital security support for journalists both before and after incidents of online abuse. As a form of prevention, the digital security team should: • Scan the target’s electronic devices to identify potential vulnerabilities that might allow hackers to access a journalist’s personal data and publicly expose it (doxing).
Legal support
There are a number of compelling reasons why news organizations should pursue criminal or civil legal action in response to online abuse. Pursuing legal action sends the message that existing laws against threats and harassment that apply in the analogue world apply in the digital world as well and helps to deter future aggressors.
Public statement of support
For the news organization, showing public support for a journalist under attack sends the message that the organization stands behind its staff and views attacks on its journalists as an attack on the institution as a whole. In many cases, this support can help generate further support from the public toward journalists under attack and […]
Psychological support
Professional mental health support can play an important role in helping mitigate the consequences of online abuse and harassment of journalists. As a best practice, media outlets should ensure that journalists have access to mental health care either through the organization’s health plan or through ad hoc arrangements made between the media outlet and mental […]
Warning and blocking users
Your Community Guidelines should warn users that their accounts will be suspended if they act in breach of the Community Guidelines twice within a short period of time. Their accounts can be blocked for a few hours or a day.
Removal of comments
Comments that include a threat, insult or another attack against a journalist need to be analysed closely by moderators, who will have to determine if the comment in question falls within the boundaries of legitimate criticism or is in breach of the Community Guidelines and therefore needs to be removed. Any decision about removing a […]
Temporary leave
Based on an assessment of the emotional distress of the targeted journalist, a brief temporary leave can minimize potential trauma. Granting leave in such situations is a common practice in newsrooms, especially in departments frequently exposed to violent or highly stressful content such those working with user-generated content (UGC).
Reassignment/relocation
Based on an assessment of the emotional distress of the targeted journalist and the threat level, relocating or temporarily reassigning the journalist to another department can help minimize risk. Best practices: Reassignment During the Gezi Park protests in Turkey in 2013, numerous journalists faced vicious online threats and harassment.
Step 4: Tracking and Reassessment
News organizations should create a database to keep a record and track the evolution of each case of online harassment and the support measures implemented. This database will help to reassess the efficiency of support measures. Management needs to assign a member of the staff to curate and manage this database to keep track of the cases. Ideally, this person would be the Online Safety Expert, who should have the strongest overview of the newsroom measures applied to assist the targeted journalist.