Silencing the Fourth Estate? Understanding the Impact of Online Public Violence Against Political Journalists

Political journalists are increasingly subjected to “public violence”, including online harassment, threats, physical attacks, and defamation campaigns. While previous studies have mainly focused on violence originating from audience members, recent research highlights a growing trend of media criticism coming from politicians, particularly on social media). We know less about the role these politicians — (in)directly —play in this violence against journalists. We adopt a mixed methods approach, combining a quantitative survey and qualitative follow-up, to examine the nature, extent, and perpetrators of (online) public violence against political journalists, with a specific focus on political actors. The findings show that verbal abuse is the most common form of public violence experienced. Over half of the respondents reported encountering verbal abuse both online and offline. While only 14% of transgressive behaviors were directly attributed to politicians, journalists feel that politicians bear a degree of responsibility. The rhetoric of politicians often serves as a trigger for aggression directed at journalists by their supporters. This poses a democratic concern, as it could undermine political journalists’ ability to hold those in power accountable and fulfill their role as watchdogs.