Gender-based online violence spikes after prominent media attacks

[Nevilledog]

https://www.brookings.edu/techstream/gender-based-online-violence-spikes-after-prominent-media-attacks/

On March 9, 2021, Fox News host Tucker Carlson took aim at a favorite target: a New York Times journalist. In the crosshairs was tech reporter Taylor Lorenz, one of the paper’s rising stars who had recently described the toll of online harassment. The torrent of online hate she receives had “destroyed her life” she said, in a tweet supporting the launch of the Online Violence Response Hub.

“Destroyed her life, really? By most people’s standards, Taylor Lorenz would seem to have a pretty good life, one of the best lives in the country, in fact,” Carlson intoned. “Lots of people are suffering right now, but no one is suffering quite as much as Taylor Lorenz is suffering.”

After Carlson mocked Lorenz in his segment, her social media mentions and inbox were again filled with violent threats and harassment—a dynamic likely familiar to many women with a public presence online. The vitriol Lorenz endured was an example of gender-based online violence, which UNESCO recently characterized as online rhetoric against women designed to “induce fear, silence, and retreat; and … chill their active participation” in public debate. Yet as problematic as the phenomenon is, it remains relatively understudied. To better understand how gender-based online violence takes place, we therefore examined three instances in which female journalists were attacked by prominent male media figures on either social media or broadcast media, and then tracked the ways in which online violence against them spiked.

In order to analyze the relationship between attacks by prominent media figures and the quality of online discussion, we—NYU’s Center for Social Media and Politics and the International Women’s Media Foundation—collected data on three case studies: Carlson’s targeting of Taylor Lorenz above, the journalist Glenn Greenwald’s targeting of Lorenz on Twitter, and Carlson’s targeting of Virginia Heffernan in a separate segment on Fox News.

*snip*

[niyad]

1. and the WAR ON WOMEN continues apace. Would you consider cross-posting this in

Womn's Rights And Issues? Thanks in advance.

[Moebym]

2. Brought to mind a disturbing exchange with a Republican acquaintance of mine

It was in reference to the news that Kelly Marie Tran, the actress who played Rose in the latest Stars Wars movies quit social media over the terrible racist and sexist abuse she had been receiving from disgruntled fans.

This acquaintance was very dismissive of and unsympathetic toward Tran, claiming that she should have expected that kind of abuse from being a celebrity with a social media presence. What she was suggesting was that Tran was a coward.

I was left gobsmacked. No one should have to maintain a social media presence if doing so would worsen her mental health or even endanger her physical safety. Protecting yourself is not an indication of weakness!

[vercetti2021]

3. Same thing happened when the Last of Us part 2 came out

The antagonist was a muscular woman and of course the "fans" of the franchise all assumed she was transgender because she was muscular. But they ended up harassing the voice actress so badly online due to it. It's amazing the toxic masculinity this country has in it. So many insecure little boys that never grew up. And when it comes to Star Wars fanboys? Sadly it didn't stop at just her. Daisy Ridley and John Boyega also got so much hate as well. Mean same fanboys also nearly drove the voice of Jar Jar Binks to suicide and drove Jake Lloyd who played young Anakin Skywalker to insanity.

[cinematicdiversions]

4. I know it is a fine line but are really comfortable with equating language with violence?

Words matter. Harassment is Harassment. Calling a nasty tweet or email harassment is fine. Intimidation is excellent but I don't think someone who received a nasty tweet or any online harassment is actually a victim of violence. the word simply means something else.

[JHB]

5. Didn't he feel threatened when six people and a tambourine showed up to protest him...

...from across the street from his house?