Canada: CFWIJ Stands In Solidarity With Lauren Pelley Following Online Harassment

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December 17, 2021, Toronto – Lauren Pelley covering Covid-19 for CBC received an insulting comment on Twitter by an account not using a real name, calling her as “a fear mongering journalist” who “slept with men” to get the job. The Coalition For Women In Journalism stands in solidarity with Lauren, reiterating that online insults often are translated into physical violence.

Lauren covers health and science for the Canadian CBC and since the pandemic outbreak she has been focused on Covid-19 coverage.

She received the insulting comment in a post she retweeted showing Covid-19 tests to explain how fast one can result positive with coronavirus.

“Pretty sad that all those “men” you slept with to get employment with the CBC only got you a job as a fear mongering “journalist” writing these clickbait stories about COVID-19. You’re just another disgusting attention seeker,” reads the comment.

Online violence against women journalist is unacceptable, therefore CFWIJ condemns such an insult against her and we stand in solidarity with Lauren.

The journalist received supporting comments by citizens who were showing appreciation for the hard work she has been putting in keeping them informed with the latest developments regarding pandemic.

During this year many women journalists in Canada were targets of digital violence, mainly coming in the forms of organized trolling campaigns instigated by right wing groups as well as the institutional overreach by the police authorities. 

According to our findings, the country proved to be the most hostile virtual space for women journalists in September. At least 18 women journalists received vile and threatening emails after right-wing politician Maxime Bernier tweeted a provocative message to his followers. Displeased by their coverage of his work, and their line of inquiry, Bernier encouraged his supporters to “play dirty”, sparking a violent and targeted harassment campaign. He even went so far as to publish the email addresses of some of the journalists online, exposing them to online abuse. Although Bernier’s tweets were later taken down by Twitter because they violated community standards, they paved the way for hostile attacks against journalists.

The Coalition For Women In Journalism reported extensively on the issue at the time.