Canada: CFWIJ Condemns The Organized Troll Campaign Against Women Journalists And Journalists Of Color
Location: Canada, Toronto
Date: September 30, 2021
At least eight women journalists received vile emails after right-wing politician Maxime Bernier tweeted a provocative message to his followers. Displeased by their coverage of his work, and their line of inquiry, Bernier encouraged his supporters to “play dirty”, thus initiating a violent targeted harassment campaign. He even went so far as to publish the email addresses of some of the journalists online, making them vulnerable to online abuse. Although later taken down by Twitter, the journalists faced hostile digital attacks as a result of his tweets.
CFWIJ earlier reported on the cases of Christy Somos and Saba Eitizaz who received racist and deeply gendered emails after Bernier’s tweets. Since then, however, multiple journalists have come out and tweeted about messages of a similar nature that they received in their inboxes. It does not go unnoticed that Bernier’s since deleted tweet exclusively mentioned women journalists and journalists of color, and it is precisely these two groups that have been disproportionately targeted.
At least eight women journalists have since come forward, sharing screenshots of the abuse they received as a result of Bernier unjustifiably instigating his support base against the press. The journalists work for different organizations and cover different beats, and have been solely targeted with vile racist and sexist rhetoric.
new game! take a shot for every slur pic.twitter.com/r7sqfqkaym
— Evy Kwong (@EVYSTADIUM) September 30, 2021
The kind of hate mail I receive. This is from yesterday. This level of racist violence is shocking. I try not to let it affect me, but no one deserves this level of vitriol. pic.twitter.com/Scm1mEchhe
— Omayra Issa (@OmayraIssa) September 28, 2021
The kind of hate mail I receive. This is from yesterday. This level of racist violence is shocking. I try not to let it affect me, but no one deserves this level of vitriol. pic.twitter.com/Scm1mEchhe
— Omayra Issa (@OmayraIssa) September 28, 2021
Thanks @caj for your advocacy. Not surprisingly, after speaking up on Twitter about the abusive messages many journalists have gotten, I was sent one as well yesterday. https://t.co/s1TqaAtMTO
— Jen St. Denis (@JenStDen) September 29, 2021
The Canadian Association of Journalists has since issued a comprehensive statement and demanded investigations into the matter. The widespread bullying and abuse towards journalists is not only unethical but also criminal. Especially when those messages are based on hateful rhetoric targeting the race, gender, and sexual orientation of the journalists. Not only is it an attack on democratic principles and the free press but also puts at risk the multiculturalism that the country boasts of.
CFWIJ spoke to journalist Elisha Dacey about what occurred. "This is a symptom of a larger issue and that is misogyny and toxic masculinity on the internet," she said.
Upon asking what kind of response she would like to see, Elisha said, "This is the result of 'fake news' mentality. We need the RCMP to take it seriously, we need the police to understand how inherently threatening it is. And I don't think they do."
I received one of these last night, and I know several colleagues have also dealt with this. And this was far from an isolated incident.
— elishadacey (@elishadacey) September 29, 2021
Nice to see the CAJ (of which I'm a member) is on it and I just completed their survey. https://t.co/6t17nrbY5W
What a lovely email: pic.twitter.com/5ptkv7Hebr
— L.M (@LadnaM_) September 27, 2021
I love fan mail! pic.twitter.com/sBQzk0ebGU
— Rumneek Johal (@rumneeek) September 27, 2021
Thought I was special... pic.twitter.com/LNdr397706
— Abby Neufeld (@abbyjneufeld) September 27, 2021
Yea this is why the @caj published the statement this morning.
— Olivia Rania Bowden (@OliviaBowden__) September 29, 2021
Industry-wide many have been asking for these types of emails to be taken seriously for a very long time pic.twitter.com/fKkfaWXYuH
I'm really grateful for the people who send one of these kinds of emails, so I can deal with the other kind.
— Sarah Rieger (@sarahcrgr) September 27, 2021
(Language warning.) pic.twitter.com/WITm2KUfVD
On the impact of instances like these, she added, "Media groups are finally paying attention to the mental health of their journalists. And now it is time for the police and politicians to stand up."
"All Canadians who value what journalists do need to stand up and say it. I am so grateful for the support we have gotten as a response to this hate campaign," she added.
The Coalition For Women In Journalism extends its complete support to the journalists being targeted and joins the call for a thorough investigation into the issue. The attacks appear to be coordinated and planned and the law enforcement authorities need to hold accountable whoever is responsible for it. We condemn the actions of Maxime Bernier whose reckless and insensitive tweets led to the entire press community feeling vulnerable to hate and threats.
The CFWIJ strongly condemns the police brutality against journalists. We demand the immediate return of the press cards seized from the security forces. Policies to intimidate journalists should be abandoned, and journalism should be practiced under the criteria of freedom of the press.
If you have been harassed or abused in any way, and please report the incident by using the following form.