Ireland: Attempt To Smear Kitty Holland Following Report On Migrant Camps – CFWIJ Calls On Social Media Companies To Act

Location:  Ireland, Dublin
Date: February 1, 2023

Award-winning Irish journalist Kitty Holland is being harassed online for reporting an attack against a migrant camp. The Coalition For Women in Journalism is concerned by the far-right trolling attempting to smear her reputation. We call on social media companies to monitor and shut down this blatant organized trolling campaign targeting the journalist.

On Saturday 28 January, Irish Times Social Affairs Correspondent Kitty Holland, alongside photographer Dara Mac Dónaill, witnessed a group of men with weapons and dogs entering a migrant camp in Ashtown, Dublin. The journalists were there to report on the camp where men have been living in tents due to homelessness. When leaving the camp, Holland and her colleague saw a group of men, some wearing balaclavas and carrying sticks and a bat, go towards the men she had interviewed. Holland stated that she saw them enter and she called her colleague to return to the camp to report what was happening. Holland reported the incident in an article in The Irish Times. 

Since publishing the article and speaking about her experience on national radio, Holland has suffered a barrage of abuse online. A notable number of Twitter users have been accusing Holland of fabricating the report. Many accounts pushing this narrative against the journalist are associated with far-right groups and news sites.

She's a liar.....

— A (@Ahthatsright) January 30, 2023

Integrity and honesty?! She made up the story about the "attack" on a migrant camp! See for yourself...https://t.co/veL4ht7eqS

— Laus Tibi, Christe 🇮🇪 ✝️🇮🇪 (Gab: @nekelly) (@noelkelly) January 30, 2023

A journalist with everything!
Except
1. A camera
2. A microphone
3. Evidence
4. Witnesses.....
Face facts, she made the whole story up. That's what the @IrishTimes do every day pic.twitter.com/l5LiSiupUU

— WillyWonka (@WillyWonka079) January 30, 2023

Speaking to CFWIJ via email Holland said that she has been sent abusive messages on Facebook including, “veiled threats about being punished.”

“The worst however have been the attacks on my integrity, honesty and ability as a journalist” she said. “That has hurt and upset to the extent that I have not slept well, have not eaten properly and I am just exhausted. My family too are upset by it.”

The chairperson of the National Union of Journalists Irish branch, Seamus Dooley noted that the abuse, “is vile and beneath contempt. There have been suggestions that the story was fabricated. Kitty and Dara are journalists of the highest integrity who behaved with utmost professionalism. This was a despicable incident, and their presence thankfully prevented a more serious incident.” Mr. Dooley also added that this onslaught against Holland is “part of a pattern of behavior on Twitter and other social media platforms”.

Ms Holland feels that news organizations and trade unions in Ireland need to offer support and guidance for journalists subjected to online harassment. “I wish someone had sat me down as it all started and warned me what was going to happen, what the motivation of the trollers is, how to respond to them, and provided some aids, skills etc for it,” she said. “We need training on how to protect ourselves at protests and online, particularly with the far right. They are a different breed, who don’t play by ‘normal’ rules, who twist facts and spread disinformation. We need to not engage with them, ignore them and be equipped by employers to be able to do that. Trade unions – NUJ etc – need to be strong in condemning the harassment of journalists for doing their job.”

Kitty Holland is an esteemed journalist with a stellar reputation, she received a Journalist of the Year award in 2013. She has spent her career reporting on vulnerable communities and has written at length about homelessness and the housing crisis in Ireland. Her reporting on the tragic, and unnecessary, death of Savita Halappanavar due to Irish law against abortion led to a public outcry, the introduction of legislation to protect pregnant women, and eventually a referendum that legalized abortion.

Journalists must not be prevented from reporting on far-right groups and activities because of attacks on social media. The Coalition For Women in Journalism is deeply concerned by the trolling campaign targeting Kitty Holland and calls on social media platforms to shut them down immediately. We also call on journalistic organizations in Ireland to provide training and support for their journalists who may be targets of this harassment.

The Coalition For Women In Journalism is a global organization of support for women journalists. The CFWIJ pioneered mentorship for mid-career women journalists across several countries around the world and is the first organization to focus on the status of free press for women journalists. We thoroughly document cases of any form of abuse against women in any part of the globe. Our system of individuals and organizations brings together the experience and mentorship necessary to help female career journalists navigate the industry. Our goal is to help develop a strong mechanism where women journalists can work safely and thrive.

If you have been harassed or abused in any way, and please report the incident by using the following form.