Becoming a Target: Journalists’ Perspectives on Anti-Press Discourse and Experiences with Hate Speech

ABSTRACT

In many parts of the world, journalists work in increasingly hostile environments. To better understand the characteristics and implications of hostility against the press in a hybrid regime, this study explores how journalists in Serbia perceive and experience anti-press hate speech. Based on 20 interviews with diverse reporters, we describe hate speech against journalists as an ad hominem attack triggered by the very nature of journalistic conduct. We discuss two identified mechanisms of hate speech propagation. The first, machinery of hate speech, refers to orchestrated attacks on independent journalists by ruling party officials, pro-government news outlets, and troll armies. In contrast, the lone-wolf-haters mechanism refers to authentic and sporadic expressions of hate by extreme partisan audiences to which all journalists are susceptible, regardless of their affiliation. Describing their personal experiences, the participants report various responses to encountering hate speech, ranging from immediate emotions to less immediate psychological reactions to physical health problems. To prevent hateful acts from interfering with their journalistic performance, they rely on a variety of coping strategies and mechanisms, including psychological and professional strategies, as well as social and institutional support.

KEYWORDS:

• Hate speech
• anti-press discourse
• journalists
• personal experiences
• coping strategies
• flawed democracies

Acknowledgements

This research was approved by the University of Belgrade – Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory IRB, number 329, on 30 November 2022.

Disclosure Statement

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

Notes

1 https://www.bazenuns.rs/srpski/napadi-na-novinare

2 For more information on the Serbian media system, see IREX (2019).

3 Pseudonyms are used throughout to protect the study participants’ identities.

Additional information

Funding

Our work was realized with the support of the Ministry of Science, Technological Development and Innovation of the Republic of Serbia, according to the Agreement on the realization and financing of scientific research, and was partly funded by Grant 60/2022-DO-SĆF from the Slavko Ćuruvija Foundation.