ONLINE HARASSMENT
This can range from severe bullying to explicit threats, and can come via emails, social media, text messages or other channels. People who don’t like a news story may organise an online attack against journalists to intimidate them. The Columbia Journalism Review says the rise of President Donald Trump has brought the issue of online harassment to the fore, with some journalists acknowledging they have started to think twice before publishing due to abuse. Such harassment can affect your emotional wellbeing and, in extreme cases, lead to stalking and physical threats.

If someone targets you with online abuse as a result of your work:
— Inform your supervisor, editor and managers. The editorial safety team will assess whether there is a physical risk to be addressed and whether to bring our legal team into the loop
— In most cases do not engage with online harassers as cyber bullies feed off their victim’s reactions.
— Keep a record –  a screenshot or record of the links. This information can demonstrate a pattern of abuse.
— Audit what private material you’ve put out on the internet and the extent to which you share your location. Check the privacy settings on your social media accounts. Remove personal information you wouldn’t want the world to see.

As always, talk to family or friends if online abuse has affected you. Don’t keep things bottled up. Take care of yourself.

Women journalists attract the most abuse online, often of a sexual nature – about three times as much as their male counterparts. Around two-thirds of women journalists worldwide have been the victims of harassment, a quarter of which takes place online. Click for the following stories:

When harassment drives women out of journalism

'Women journalists more vulnerable to online harassment'

Journalists targeted with threats of sexual violence

For more on dealing with online harassment: https://thehub.thomsonreuters.com/docs/DOC-2364019)