The advent of technology and its onward improvements have necessitated a shift to journalism from the traditional setting to a technological space. Studies show that 80 percent of journalists use online platforms such as blog sites, Facebook, X handle formerly Twitter, and more for news gathering and dissemination of information to the public.
As a matter of fact, core traditional platforms have an online version of their media houses to ensure they remain relevant to the growing population of online users.
According to statistics, over 100 million people used the internet in Nigeria at the beginning of January 2024, while social media users in January 2024 stood at 36.75 million, which is about 16.2 percent of Nigeria’s total population at that time, and this figure continues to grow.
Thus, the online platforms present veritable environments for information dissemination to a more heterogeneous, multicultural, and global audience.
This draws concern to the safety of journalists in the online space, underscoring the fact that journalists face harassment and all sorts of abuses, including being murdered in the physical arena.
Global Survey on Online Violence against Women Journalists conducted in 15 countries including Nigeria by the United Nations Education, Science and Cultural Organization, UNESCO revealed that 73 percent of women journalists had experienced online violence in the course of their duty, 25 percent had received threats of physical violence, 18 percent had been threatened with sexual violence, while 20 percent had been attacked offline in connection with online violence they had experienced.
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The above data shows the hazardous nature of the profession and that journalists in Nigeria face without sex disparity while putting their lives at risk to ensure the public is informed. Some journalists in Nigeria have experienced threats to their lives for carrying out their duties online.
This indeed should be of great concern in ensuring the safety of journalists in the online space. Continuous harassment has led and still leads to psychological and emotional effects such as fear, stress, anxiety, and anger.
Also, the physical effects of the act on journalists can amount to withdrawal from carrying out thorough investigation or newsgathering, altering story reports and sources, and self-censorship to avoid attention being drawn to them.
Furthermore, online violence has resulted in and still results in economic and human resource loss, as well as journalists leaving the industry due to the violence they face online.
If online violence against journalists is not checked, the media industry will be hijacked by gorilla reporters who, because they have access to data, smartphones, or laptops, could throw unguided stories in the name of journalism. More worrisome will be the influx of misinformation, disinformation, and propaganda.
It behooves the government and news organizations to enact and implement policies seeking the protection of journalists, both physical and online. Punishing offenders will create a sense of safety for journalists who are carrying out their duties judiciously.
More so, providing a safe home for abused journalists, economic support, and frequent training on technological tools/settings that limit journalists’ exposures to abuses, and training on how to handle Online violence, are profitable ventures.
Online Journalism is not an enemy to society. Proactive laws should be put in place to punish those who prey on online journalists, and those who develop online interactive platforms should put in place mechanisms to flag, identify, and ban accounts of those seen to instigate or perpetrate violence against journalists.
