Australia: CFWIJ condemns online troll campaign against Leigh Sales

February 17, 2021, Melbourne: Journalist Leigh Sales was viciously attacked by supporters of the Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews. The attack happened online in the aftermath of a press conference during which Sales had questioned Andrews' policy.
After Andrews' declined Leigh's offer to appear for an interview on her show ABC’s 7:30, Leigh imagined that his press conference might be the best shot to have her inquiries answered. She attended the Premier's press conference and questioned him about the 5-day-lockdown plan he has for Victoria. Her concern was whether the political leadership lacked faith in their quarantine systems. Although Andrews' appeared uncomfortable in some instances, he welcomed her questions and the conversation remained polite.

However, supporters of Andrews took to Twitter to shame Leigh, a journalist, for questioning a politician. People accused her of "hijacking" the session in an attempt to make up for the previously declined interview. They referred to her as an "armchair expert" and accused her of having a "bruised ego."

This is not the first time Leigh has been targeted with online vitriol. She is attacked with misogynistic trolling whenever she has Prime Minister Scott Morrison on her show. Interestingly, she receives such jibes from both sides of the aisle.

The Coalition For Women In Journalism condemns these attacks on Leigh Sales. The manner in which offline attitudes towards gender seep into online spaces is reprehensible and worrying. Instead of making our offline spaces safer for women, it appears that online spaces have also succumbed to gender inequalities.