Bullying and harassment faced by journalists, particularly female journalists has been highlighted at the Cyber Crime and Online Safety Challenges in Fiji and the Pacific conference at Suvavou House.
Head of Journalism at the University of South Pacific, Dr. Shailendra Singh says that after a research conducted with his co-author, it was found that females journalists are the most vulnerable.
He adds that female journalists are often intimidated and come under attack, which leads to them losing focus and sharpness when covering stories.
Meanwhile, Mai TV Fiji Director, Stanley Simpson says that journalists are often targeted for little mistakes and bullied for two or three months, with the entire country pointing fingers, creating memes and turning them into a laughingstock.
Simpson is urging Fijians to come together and intervene when they witness online bullying, rather than remaining silent.
During the Talanoa session, Simpson also highlights about false representations of history, online bullying, and increasing circulation of explicit content in Fiji, highlighting the pressing need for digital literacy and media responsibility. Simpson says balancing public opinion and malicious disinformation is becoming increasingly difficult with the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) and other digital tools.
Dr Singh further emphasizes that the key issues are the lack of resources and expertise along with Fiji having one of the highest rates of journalists attrition in the world.
He says there is a need to provide news media with adequate resources and expert support.
He stresses that the growing prevalence of racism and hate speech on social media threatens the Fijian Government’s social cohesion strategy.
Dr Singh emphasizes that for a lasting solution, it must start from homes and schools adding the school curriculum can include lessons on the responsibilities of social media use.
