United States: CFWIJ Rebukes Right Wing Conspiracists For Targeting Liz Essley Whyte, With Online Vitriol. Demand Infowars To Take Down Her Personal Information.

Location: United States, Washington D.C
Date: June 10, 2021

Following her reportage on the pandemic, Public Integrity journalist Liz Essley Whyte has been targeted by conspiracy theorists online. It is clear that all the online vitriol towards the journalist comes following her extensive coverage of the coronavirus pandemic and American vaccination policies. We also condemn Infowars for actively participating in spreading misinformation about the journalist and releasing her personal contact information on their site.

The CFWIJ appreciates her employer, Public Integrity, coming out in support of her - often a rare but crucial support women journalists should get from their employers. An editorial published on June 8, details the excellent work Liz has done as part of her coverage of the pandemic, condemning the threats she now faces.

Over the course of America's reckoning with the pandemic, Liz Essley Whyte demanded transparency from the state through her reporting; one investigative piece after another. Liz now under attack by supporters of right-wing politics and conspiracy theorists. Members of the anti-vaccination movement have targeted her with violent rape threats, attacking her with all kinds of gendered slurs. There have been multiple attempts at hacking into her social media accounts. In fact, following an email she sent to a source - relative of a vaccine misinformation purveyor - for an interview for one of her stories, she was viciously doxed. Her contact number, email address, home address and names of her family members was made public on the infamous conspiracy theory platform Infowars, making herself and her loved ones extremely vulnerable to the hate being stoked against her online. In that the CFWIJ founding director Kiran Nazish said, “We sternly condemn Infowars for being an active peddler of conspiracy theories and for encroaching the privacy of journalists personal information, and risking safety of journalists and their loved ones. We also recognize, Liz to be a journalist who reports with dignity and support her right to ask questions from all sides.”

Liz spoke to CFWIJ and said, "I was surprised to receive so much vitriol for simply asking to interview someone via a polite email. As a journalist, I'm used to criticism, but the death threats and threats to harm my family were especially awful. It's sad that we live in a world where people put so much effort into attacking reporters."

In an excellent editorial Matt DeRienzo, editor-in-chief of Public Integrity, acknowledged the important work Liz had done and slammed the movement targeting her. The piece also acknowledges the added burden that non-male and non-white journalists have to bear as part of their professional lives.

"I’ve written many controversial things in 25-plus years as a reporter and editor. I can’t remember ever getting a death or rape threat. It can be a routine part of the job for journalists who are not white and male," DeReinzo says in the editorial.

The editorial goes on to reassert its support for the journalist explaining why she became the target of such a vicious online hate campaign, "Liz’s journalistic process is a threat to the business model and livelihood of people who spread false information for a living. She continues to ask questions on your behalf, even as she and her family are harassed."

The Coalition For Women In Journalism stands in solidarity with Liz Essley Whyte and demands Twitter and social media platforms to discourage online trolls and miscreants. For far too long social media giants have enabled conspiracy theorists to spread misinformation on their platforms and violently target journalists doing honest work. This pandemic should serve as an opportunity for these companies to rethink their policies to ensure a safer online experience for women and people of colour. CFWIJ dismisses these groundless and irrational accusations at the journalist.

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.