Attack of the trolls
- Lauren Kobley
- Mar 8, 2023
- 5 min read
Updated: Mar 26, 2023
Some of the many risks journalists may experience in their careers include occupational intimidation and aggression. Online abuse comes in many forms, ranging from petty comments on articles to death threats. As journalists we are typically advised to not engage, but what happens when it becomes too much?
Types of harassment
Harassment - Aggressive verbal or physical actions directed at someone because of a personal characteristic.
General harassment in the workplace can come from anyone whether that be managers, colleagues, editors or bosses. Examples of this type of harassment include derogatory jokes, racial slurs, sexual abuse and more. It can also include physical violence. A study done in 2015, reported that 58% of female and 35% of male journalists reported experiencing some form of sexual harassment in the workplace (Parker et al.).
Occupational Intimidation - A form of harassment (usually verbal or physical threats) meant to harm a person’s ability to carry out job responsibilities.
According to the DART Center, “63% of journalists reported experiencing occupational intimidation” (Parker et al.). This type of intimidation is what most journalists are likely to experience in their careers and can lead to short-term and long-term effects on one’s well-being. Examples of occupational intimidation include violence in the field, phone taps, invasion of privacy, imprisonment and even murder.
Interpersonal Aggression - Behavior that has the goal of harming or injuring an individual.
The four main types of aggression include accidental, expressive, instrumental and hostile. Interpersonal aggression most commonly falls into the hostile category. Hostile aggression is done with purposeful intent to harm another. It involves shifting power dynamics to make one person feel more influence or status than the other. Interpersonal aggression is commonly accompanied by anger. Some examples include physical fights, threats and verbal insults.
Where does it come from?
There is a difference between the average internet user who could be considered a passionate critic and true trolls that work to inflict psychological pain. These people are not the true trolls that work to inflict psychological pain. True internet trolls share similar traits of “sadism, psychopathy, Machiavellianism, narcissism, sexism, racism and other real-world bullying techniques” (Rees). While it is true that these occupational intimidations frequently come from an anonymous user, they most often come from a known person in the local community (Parker et al.). Threats can also come from sources and government officials.
Sometimes these threats are even made by terrorist groups. One example of this was in 2014 when the Islamic State “disseminated a video on the web that showed the beheading of American journalist James Foley after he was kidnapped in Syria” (Reporters Without Borders). Cyber attacks happen in almost every country including India, Spain, France, Finland and Sweden (not just in the United States).
Effects of online harassment
A journalist who is a recipient of online abuse can be subjected to work-related, psychological and physical consequences. While some of the results may be fleeting, others are long-lasting and can detrimentally affect one’s well-being.
Work-Related
Decline in job performance
Anxiety about completing certain tasks
Project neglect
Disengagement
Psychological
Lowered self-esteem
Self-blame
Depression
Anxiety
Substance Abuse
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
Physical
Headaches
Weight loss or gain
Sleep disturbance
Self-harm
It is important to understand the effects of cyber attacks on journalists as it prohibits them from completing the job at hand and could affect their mental health for the rest of their life.
Protecting yourself from online hate
To protect yourself from harassment it is important to understand how this type of abuse works. In the journalism field, these attacks may be personal or they can even attack a news organization as a whole. Severity and volume are the two main categories to consider when responding to online attacks.
The severity of the content refers to the material an internet abuser uses when attacking a person. The attacker can trigger a “biological defense system” if the content contains threats of physical harm (to the recipient or their friends and family) and traumatic imagery (Rees). Some trolls even partake in attempted identity theft and swatting, which is when an anonymous caller reports fake crimes to law enforcement agencies at their recipient’s address or place of work. Although journalists are good at dissecting information and digesting traumatic material, these types of threats can take an immense toll on their mental health especially since most of the threats are anonymous.
If the volume of the content is greater than the severity then the issue is not so much what is being said it is how much is coming in. No matter if a journalist is used to negative feedback or not if they are constantly being berated by “posts, tweets and comments that insult the journalist, pour scorn on the content of their work, or argue in bad faith it can demoralize without ever being violently abusive,” and lead to a moral injury (Rees). Moral injury refers to the phenomenon where people develop a loss of faith in themselves or in others. Journalists working as watchdogs against disinformation are at the greatest risk to receive this type of backlash which can lead to burnout and other mental health-related conditions such as depression, anxiety and PTSD (Rees).
Ginger Gorman isn’t a household name, but her story is more common than one may think. She is a wife, mother and journalist who in 2013 was trolled online and received countless hateful messages, death threats and more. Her book, Hunting Trolls depicts her journey inside the world of online hate. Based on her personal experiences and investigations of the world of internet trolls, Ginger worked with the DART Center to compile her top five tips to deal with online harassment as a journalist.
Get your psychological armor on
To the trolls, you are just part of their business plan. It may feel personal to you, but to them, it isn’t. Be aware of how their comments are affecting you and take note of how you can work to mitigate the anxiety you may be feeling.
Be silent to the trolls – but not each other
Debrief and get the stress off your chest in the offline world with family and friends. You may be tempted to respond, but instead, take a moment to collect yourself first and come back to it later. Trolls feed off of your reaction, so learn to not give them one.
Use the report/block/mute buttons
While social media platforms may have the tendency to be lax, you don’t have to be. Use your report, block or mute buttons to stop the trolls from blowing up your feed.
Turn notifications off at night
Ginger notes it is not realistic to stay off the internet, but managing your time spent online can help ease the tension or anxiety you can feel when in these situations.
Report trolls to law enforcement
Document the cyber hate that occurs. Local law enforcement and online platforms like the Cyberbullying Research Center have a plethora of resources you can utilize against the trolls.
It is a good practice to remind yourself to look for the positive even in negative situations. Highlight the praise you receive from your readers and try not to focus on just the anonymous attacks.
Resources
Parker, Kelsey, et al. “Journalists and Harassment.” Dart Center, Columbia Journalism School, 11 Dec. 2017, https://dartcenter.org/content/journalists-and-harassment.
Rees, Gavin. “Online Abuse: A Self-Defence Guide.” Dart Center, Columbia Journalism School, 23 Feb. 2021, https://dartcenter.org/resources/online-abuse-self-defence-guide.
Reporters Without Borders. “Online Harassment of Journalists.” RSF, 2018, https://rsf.org/en/rsf-publishes-report-online-harassment-journalists.
Comments