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‘Sexualised, Silenced and Labelled Satan’ — horrific levels of online violence targeting women journalists

  • Writer: Julie Reid
    Julie Reid
  • Feb 6
  • 1 min read

Political actors and partisan media outlets have been fomenting online violence against prominent Daily Maverick journalists, according to a study published on Wednesday by the US-based International Center for Journalists (ICFJ). The study covers a period from 2012 to the present and includes recent analysis of over 270,000 social media posts.

 

Haffajee, Van Wyk and Davis’ experiences of online violence are emblematic of attacks on South African women journalists, the key perpetrators are political actors, and the modes of abuse reflect the digital misogyny playbook used internationally by authoritarians.

 

For Pauli van Wyk, this has involved threats of having her throat slit, being raped, being necklaced, and “shot in the pussy”. She has endured demonisation by EFF party leader, Julius Malema, who called her “Satan” on Twitter(X) in 2018, and torrents of abuse from EFF supporters.




 
 
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