Canadian journalists, particularly those of colour, are increasingly targeted by online hate, making it difficult for them to work and harming the public’s right to know.
That’s one conclusion of a new 11-page report. The document is the result of roundtable discussions hosted by the Canadian Association of Journalists and the Canadian Journalism Foundation (CJF) on Oct. 21, 2021.
“Canadian politicians, like members of the Canadian media themselves, are the instigators of some of these instances of online abuse,” the Poisoned Well report said. “People's Party of Canada leader Maxime Bernier's 2021 targeting of three journalists on Twitter is one such incident that was highlighted during the discussion.”
Last September, Twitter restricted Bernier's account for 12 hours after he tweeted encouragement for his supporters to "play dirty" with journalists covering his election campaign.
Such abuse is something that can cause journalists to leave the business or not report on things they normally might for fear of attacks.
“Freedom of the press is integral to a healthy democracy,” CJF president Natalie Turvey said.“The online abuse suffered by too many journalists today goes well beyond critical discourse and, in many cases, harms their safety and well-being in the workplace.”
“This report is a call to action to our industry, government officials and the broader Canadian public,” Turvey added.
Roundtable participant Shree Paradkar, a Toronto Star writer, said newsroom senior management, police, politicians and society at large aren’t treating the situation with the gravity she believes it merits.
Paradkar said a recent UNESCO report on online violence against women journalists around the world found that at least 20 per cent of those harassed online also faced real-world threats.
“This is not just some psychological gameplay,” Paradkar said.
Abuse part of the job?
Engagement with social media platforms has become part of the job, abuse often accepted as part of the work environment.
“Engagement with these platforms — even ones as old-school as email — is a potential source of harms,” the report said. “Employers need to set clear guidelines on the amount of engagement they expect, as well as make resources such as health coverage available to their workers.”
CBC’s Karyn Pugliese, a Ryerson University School of Journalism associate professor, said journalists of colour frequently aren’t accorded the same supports as other journalists and can feel isolated.
Global BC news director Bhupinder Hundal said as the social media environment becomes increasingly toxic, the company has encouraged its journalists to leave online platforms.
“We need to loosen the reins… and allow people the space that they need in order to be like ‘this is not worth it anymore,’” Hundal said.
The other thing Global News has tried to focus on, he said, is having managers work with individual journalists to decide what level of engagement is best for them and how to support their choice.
The Toronto Star has a chain of responses in place for temporary and permanent employees receiving online harassment, Paradkar said.
“It starts when they email to say they have received threats, and includes everything from risk assessment to — if the employee wants — support in going to the police and legal advice,” Paradkar said.
Those benefits aren’t extended to freelancers, the report said.
A stumbling block, however, is an often adversarial relationship with police, one compounded for Black journalists with a distrust of police, panellists said.
“What I’m not seeing and haven’t seen in the entirety of my time as a journalist… is a sophisticated response that engenders trust amongst at least Black journalists especially including myself,” Toronto-based freelance journalist Vicky Mochama said.
Further compounding problems in dealing with online hate is the high bar for a legal response. The report said the threshold for laying charges for things like willful promotion of hatred and advocating genocide is extremely high. It requires attorney general consent before it can be brought to the courts.
Any other offence, such as assault or harassment, may be hate-motivated, but that motivation doesn’t come into play until sentencing — the end of a lengthy and draining process that may traumatize the survivor, the report said.
But, should a reporter decide to go to police, that person should have support in doing so, the report said.
Here's a list of solutions that came from the discussions:
- Trauma-informed management is needed to mitigate harms caused by online hate;
- Journalists should be allowed to set their own level of engagement with places where they might receive hate;
- Proactive, preemptive supports should be in place for all workers and engagement with leadership can establish the basis for a positive response;
- Support for freelance workers is necessary to ensure they can continue working, and:
- Newsrooms need to examine how their own coverage perpetuates harms and reinforces stereotypes.
