Assédio e hostilidade online contra jornalistas: dimensões experienciais e de género

Despite the potential benefits of closer relationships between journalists and audiences in the digital environment, the audiences’ possibility to comment or easily contact journalists also became a problem. Online attacks and harassment of these professionals, more visible with the increase of the far-right, are relevant problems that include gender dimensions. Based on a tridimensional study that included mapping of a sample of news comments, a survey of journalists and a set of in-depth interviews with women journalists, this research seeks to analyse the situation in Portugal. The results confirm the presence of abusive discourse on news comments, the perception of the journalists that the digital environment has increased hostility against the press, a lack of confidence in the protection mechanisms, and that aspects such as gender are relevant on online harassment.