“My haters and I ”: personal and political responses to hate speech against female journalists in Austria

ABSTRACT

Journalists are consistent targets of hate speech, which aims at silencing critical voices; yet female journalists encounter forms of hate speech that are unique to their gender. Hate speech against female journalists can have far-reaching implications on journalism practice and society as a whole. This study investigates the macro and micro dimensions of countering hate speech as a matter of policy and as a matter of personal resistance. Its first part analyses the legal and institutional means to counter hate speech in Austria while the second part juxtaposes the micro level of experiencing hate speech and forms of resistance through in-depth interviews with nine female journalists in Austria. The findings indicate that female journalists received more hate speech when they spoke about stereotypically male-dominated topics. They noted that receiving hate speech could have a severe impact on one’s personal life or work. As measures of countering those effects, female journalists responded by making the hate comments public, while others withdrew themselves from public altogether. Deterred from seeking support from the authorities, as they did not feel taken seriously, women turned to other women who showed solidarity. The paper concludes with suggestions of practical action deriving from both sets of information.

KEYWORDS:

• Hate speech
• female journalists
• online attack
• my hater
• online abuse

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Katharine Sarikakis

Katharine Sarikakis is Professor of Communication Science with specialization in Media Governance, Media Organization, and Media Industries at the Department of Communication, University of Vienna. ([email protected])

Bruktawit Ejigu Kassa

Bruktawit Ejigu Kassa is a PhD Candidate at the Department of Communication, University of Vienna, and a lecturer at the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication, Haramaya University, Ethiopia. ([email protected])

Natascha Fenz

Natascha Fenz is currently doing her master’s study in Communication Science at the University of Vienna. ([email protected])

Sarah Goldschmitt

Sarah Goldschmitt graduated with a Master’s Degree in Communication Science at the University of Vienna. ([email protected])

Julia Kasser

Julia Kasser holds a Master’s Degree in Communication Science at the University of Vienna. ([email protected])

Laura Nowotarski

Laura Nowotarski graduated with a Master’s Degree in Communication Science at the University of Vienna. ([email protected])