The University of Liverpool is one of the top UK universities, member of the prestigious Russell Group of 24 leading UK universities.
The Worlds of Journalism Study is a cross-national collaborative project assessing the state of journalism in the world through representative surveys with journalists.
UNESCO is the lead UN Agency for promoting freedom of expression and safety of journalists as part of its mandate to “promote the free flow of ideas by word and image”.
Escalation Channels 2.0: A customer service for journalists harassed online
Report
Today, journalists are at the frontline of disinformation and online abuse attacks. These online campaigns target mainly marginalized groups and women journalists - 73% of them have been harassed online internationally, according to UNESCO and ICFJ. The Escalation Channel 2.0 is a system that allows journalists and human rights defenders facing severe online abuse (such as death threats, doxing, coordinated mobs, etc.) to escalate their case within social media platforms and access targeted, hands-on, trauma-informed support.
This is still an ongoing project.
Sample
Research Method: +35 interviews of journalists, press freedom organizations and incident responders, trust and safety practitioners, academics, engineers, therapists, digital and physical safety experts. - Two workshops cohosted by Harvard and PEN America, convening representatives of social media platforms, technologists and journalists harassed online - Two reports: What Social Media Companies Can Do Now to Combat Online Harassment and Empower Users [Viktorya Vilk, Elodie Vialle, Matt Bailey, 2021] - Online Harassment of Journalists: attack of the trolls [Elodie Vialle, Reporters without Borders, 2018] +5 years of experience assisting journalists harassed and exploring solutions with practionners and academics to mitigate the impact of online abuse abuse + 12 years of experience as a digital trainer for journalists and newsrooms worldwide + 15 years of experience as a journalist (TV, radio, web)Main Findings
My research explores the role of the "Crisis Concierge", an actor providing journalists harassed online with physical, digital and psychological safety tips, and editorial guidance when facing online harassment, while vetting, documenting and escalating their cases within social media platforms and/or to legal action.Policy recommendations/implications
The escalation channel is one of the civil society recommendations for the UN Plan of Action on the Safety for Journalists and the Issue of Impunity(Vienna, Nov 4) : [E. ADDRESS DIGITAL THREATS TO JOURNALIST SAFETY . 6] Work to create a multi-stakeholder, research-informed ‘early warning system’ along with escalation channels - which also operate efficiently in local languages - prompting interventions (including from UN Special Rapporteurs), in cases where there is a significant and/or repeated risk to a journalist under attack online, including a specific focus on gender-based online violence.This is still an ongoing project.
- Research focuses:
- Physical, Psychological, Digital
- Methods used in research:
- Interviews, Focus groups, Qualitative content analysis, Workshops, Trainings, +5 years of experience supporting journalists, +15 years working as a trainer for journalists
- Countries of research focus:
- International focus