Ukraine: CFWIJ Is Concerned About Journalist Katerina Sergatskova Receiving Threats And Harassment From Far-Right Groups
Location: Ukraine, Kyiv
Date: July 15, 2020
Freelance journalist and co-founder of online media outlet Zaborona, Katerina Sergatskova has been a target of an online harassment campaign following her coverage exposing alleged links between Facebook, a local fact-checking organisation called StopFake, and far-right or neo-nazi groups.
Katerina’s private information such as her home address along with photographs of her five year old son were maliciously shared on Facebook after her coverage on July 3. The report detailed several instances of one of the NGO’s public faces appearing alongside musicians from Holocaust-denying, white power bands. It suggested the alleged links could have served as a reason for Facebook removing an earlier Zaborona article about far-right activist Denis Nikitin according to The Independent.
Among the harassers was the Ukrainian TV anchor Roman Skrypin who used sexist slurs against Katerina.
Posts (with Facebook's auto-translate) below. I didn't include the photos, which include an image of her holding her child, and another of what Roman thinks is her house. Facebook should ban Skrypin from their platform due to these threats of violence. https://t.co/jVtvoIdY0H pic.twitter.com/vTUzTX46Be
— Aric Toler (@AricToler) July 12, 2020
The new translation is our investigation article about Ukrainian fact-checking organization «Stopfake» and their relation to Neo-Nazis: https://t.co/omY3EbB4Ux
— zaborona_media (@zaborona_media) July 10, 2020
@Sergogotv @ChristopherJM @MaximEristavi pic.twitter.com/dIuJs3CGM1
Katerina took the matter to the police on July 11 and in the meanwhile had to flee her Kyiv home for protection of her small child.
Several journalists and human rights organizations including Human Rights Watch extended solidarity with Katerina while Ukrainian watchdog groups chose to stay silent in a manner of almost defending the fact checking organization alleged to be the cause of the attacks.
I’m proud to call Katya a friend & colleague. For years, she’s done brave reporting on topics that are highly sensitive in Ukraine. Her reporting from eastern Ukraine, in particular, helped shine a light on Russia’s aggression against Ukraine & Ukrainian security service abuses. https://t.co/QIs2hywZtN
— Christopher Miller (@ChristopherJM) July 14, 2020
StopFake, in their counter statement implied that Katerina, who is a national of Ukraine, was following a trend of “harassment and intimidation from pro-Russian media.”
Katerina Sergatskova who spoke to Human Rights Watch said she had been subject to online harassment before, particularly for her investigations into the work of the Ukrainian security services. But she said the individual nature and extent of the harassment this time made her more fearful.
Those fears are not inconsistent with a history of extreme violence from Ukraine’s far-right groups, along with allegations of links between neo-nazi groups and law enforcement.
The Coalition For Women In Journalism documented seven cases of attacks and threats against women journalists in Ukraine during the first half of 2020. Ukraine has doubled down on its efforts to silence the press when Covid-19 pandemic broke out.
The Coalition For Women In Journalism finds doxxing and online harassment campaigns along with sexist attacks towards women journalists utterly despicable. We call upon Ukrainian authorities to investigate the threats and ensure Katerina’s and all journalists safety in the country. We also urge Facebook to ban the accounts that used their platform for malicious intent.
The CFWIJ strongly condemns the police brutality against journalists. We demand the immediate return of the press cards seized from the security forces. Policies to intimidate journalists should be abandoned, and journalism should be practiced under the criteria of freedom of the press.
If you have been harassed or abused in any way, and please report the incident by using the following form.
