New tool seeks to protect journalists from online hate

RSF sounds the alarm on the increase in abuses committed against journalists. — AFP Relaxnews

For a few years now, a new threat has been looming over journalists: cyberbullying. As many organisations express their alarm about how wide-spread the phenomenon is, the Thomson Reuters Foundation has set out to create a new platform to help media professionals combat online abuse when it occurs.

Christophe Deloire, secretary general of Reporters Without Borders (RSF), said in 2018 that “online harassment is a phenomenon that is spreading throughout the world and now constitutes one of the gravest threats to press freedom”. Four years later, these words are unfortunately still relevant.