“Watching the Watchdogs Attacked”: Audience Perception of Online Harassment of Journalists in Kenya

While research documents how online harassment affects journalists, far less is known about how audiences interpret and respond to such attacks. This study addresses this gap through 19 semi-structured, in-depth interviews with Kenyan adults from urban and rural areas. We examine how audiences in Kenya describe encounters with online harassment of journalists (OHJ), explain its causes, and respond when they witness it. Findings indicate that audiences often interpret OHJ through political and moral lenses, attributing it to journalists’ perceived political affiliations, professional conduct, reporting practices, or failure to meet public expectations of journalistic norms. Participants also point to broader structural drivers, including political polarization, normalized digital hostility, coordinated online campaigns, and gendered abuse such as trolling and sexualized attacks. Audience responses varied, with some engaging in counter-speech and public defense, while others withdrew due to fear of retaliation or feelings of powerlessness.