With Indo-Pak relations on tenterhooks post the Pulwama terror attack on 14 February, debates anchored on political tensions have led to volatile reactions on social media. When journalist Barkha Dutt tweeted out a post offering help to Kashmiris around, she was targeted with online abuse, inflammatory messages, and sexist slurs. Other senior journalists like Abhisar Sharma, Ravish Kumar, and Swati Chaturvedi were targeted too with online slurs and abuse.
Not only has Dutt has taken the matter up with Twitter in terms of organisational responsibility, all the journalists have unanimously spoken up against online harassment that must be held accountable.
The Editors Guild of India put out a statement on Friday afternoon, urging the government to take the necessary steps and bring the abusers to book.
This comes two days after the government took cognisance of the threats and abuse the senior journalists are facing. The Ministry of Communications & IT issued a notice asking the telecom operators in question to take appropriate action:
“As per the Licence Agreement, the onus is also on the telecom operators to ensure that their networks are not used for obscene, malicious and objectionable transmission. lt is suggested that the telecom operators/licensees may open dedicated call centre/helpline for receiving such complaints.”Ministry of Communications, Department of Telecommunication to mobile operators.
Multiple journalists have spoken up in support of the senior journalists facing online abuse. The National Commission of Women asked Delhi Commissioner of Police, Amulya Patnaik, to initiate a “speedy investigation” into the harassment faced by Dutt, on Tuesday. On Monday, Reporters Without Borders extended their support and called for prompt government action.
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