United States: Iranian-American Journalist Negar Mortazavi Hit With A Fresh Wave Of Online Attacks

Location:  United States, Washington
Date: April 9, 2022

Over a decade of being an exiled journalist, Negar Mortazavi, continues to face online attacks and death threats against her. Starting with the Iranian security forces, followed by the Trump administration, the online jeopardy against the journalist is not only limited to these two countries. Governments and political groups working in the Middle East also constitute a threat to Negar. The Coalition For Women In Journalism (CFWIJ) stands in solidarity with Negar and condemns the abuse leveled at her to silence her work.

Iranian-American journalist and political analyst Negar Mortazavi has been facing waves of sexist, misogynistic, online attacks and death threats for over a decade for her journalistic activities. The journalist is based in Iranian affairs and US-Iran relations, also, is a frequent media analyst on Iran and US foreign policy. Forced into exile in 2009 over her work on the Iranian green movement for the US-funded newsroom, Voice of America (VOA), she became a target of trolls. She still has an open case against her and because of the high risk of being prosecuted in Iran, she cannot return to her homeland. 

She was deliberately attacked online by the trolls that the Iranian government-sponsored. Her family was also threatened in Iran. Speaking to CFWIJ, Negar said, during her period in VOA, her family was pressured in the country. House raids, threat calls, and baseless accusations against her family aiming to reach out to the journalist were a couple of examples Negar gave to the CFWIJ.

Iranian government trolls called me agent of US, lover of Imperialism, a self-hating Iranian who sold her country to Great Satan. Because of my work at VOA, my family was harassed and pressured in Iran.

Now few years after I left VOA, the US gov funded a project that attacks me.

— Negar Mortazavi نگار مرتضوی (@NegarMortazavi) June 7, 2019

There is nothing virtual about online harassment. Some even evolve into physical violence. Emotional consequences range from anxiety & depression to fear, which in many cases lead to physical reactions. Self-censorship, even considering quitting the job, is a common consequence.

— Negar Mortazavi نگار مرتضوی (@NegarMortazavi) May 1, 2021

Other than being a target in Iran, Negar faced waves of online abuse and death threats, including her family after Donald Trump’s administration. “I am a journalist with an opinion. During the Trump years, I was critical of the Trump administration policies of Iran, maximum pressure, economic sanctions,” said Negar. Not because she likes the Iranian government she said, but the criticism she loud about the economic sanctions against the Iranian people. 

“I see a new wave of attacking people after the Trump administration,” Negar told CFWIJ. In 2019, Negar exposed the Iran Disinformation Project, a state-funded initiative, that declared to "bring to light disinformation emanating from the Islamic Republic of Iran via official rhetoric, state propaganda outlets, social media manipulation, and more." She took to her social media account to highlight the wave of smear campaigns against her and various journalists, academics, and analysts who are critical voices for the Trump administration. The main reason behind those attacks was to criticize the US policies. 

Following the exposure of the state department project, Negar was also targeted by the Trump administration and smeared by online campaigns, as well as her family. When Negar stated deteriorating attacks towards her to the CFWIJ, she said the online abuse she faces not only for her but her family. The attacks included displaying her home address, pictures of her house, and her family. Her family's workplaces were also targeted by online trolls due to her work. 

“Coming today, the harassment of the opposition has reached a level that is almost identical for the Iranian government. It is a misogynist. It is sexist. They target my sexuality as a woman,” Negar added. 

Negar said the main reason for being targeted is appearing in prominent English, international news outlets such as CNN, NBS News, NPR, BBC and Al Jazeera, she also included that as a journalist, she and similar profiles do not do journalism with a political agenda.

Speaking about escalating online threats against women journalists, “It creates self-censorship and also I know a lot of women just leave social media,” Negar said, highlighting the fact that it affects mental health. “For independent journalists, for younger journalists, for freelancers, it is so much even harder, and intimidating,” she included. 

Having been a speaker for various universities, Negar said “online harassment” is horrifying for journalism students as well. “It really has an impact of intimidation, censorship and also they want to remove women's voices from the public space, from the public debate, and silence us,” she told CFWIJ. 

She also addressed the social media companies that allow cyberbullying and trolling groups on the platforms. “The companies need to be responsible and governments need to regulate them more,” she concluded.

Women journalists from and in Iran have faced sustained threats to their well-being in the digital as well as the physical world. Not only does the state actively target women journalists, but it also encourages vitriol against those among its supporters. Iranian women journalists find themselves increasingly vulnerable to racism, international Islamophobia, patriarchy, and the theocratic elements within Iran’s governance systems. CFWIJ published a report exploring the threats faced by women journalists who belong to the country or work in it.

The Coalition For Women In Journalism condemns the online abuse and threats that Negar has been tackling for over a decade. We urge the states to end these attempts to intimidate women journalists and silence their voices. The CFWIJ extends solidarity and full support to Negar. We call on the US authorities to swiftly bring the perpetrators of these vicious attacks to book and ensure the protection of the journalist and her family.

The Coalition For Women In Journalism is a global organization of support for women journalists. The CFWIJ pioneered mentorship for mid-career women journalists across several countries around the world and is the first organization to focus on the status of free press for women journalists. We thoroughly document cases of any form of abuse against women in any part of the globe. Our system of individuals and organizations brings together the experience and mentorship necessary to help female career journalists navigate the industry. Our goal is to help develop a strong mechanism where women journalists can work safely and thrive.

If you have been harassed or abused in any way, and please report the incident by using the following form.