United States: CFWIJ Condemns The Wave Of Online Attacks Against Journalist Amna Nawaz
Location: United States
Date: April 26, 2022
Broadcast journalist Amna Nawaz has been subject to online threats and attacks aiming to silence her, following a TV discussion she hosted. The journalist discussed the pedophilia allegations against Senator Mallory McMorrow and became a target of misogynist and sexist online attacks. The Coalition For Women In Journalism (CFWIJ) extends solidarity with Amna and condemns the abuse leveled at her to silence her work.
PBS’s host of the NewsHour TV program, Amna Nawaz, was targetted misogynist and sexist online attacks for discussing the grooming and pedophilia accusations against Democratic Michigan State Senator Mallory McMorrow. On April 22, the journalist hosted the TV program with the Washington Post’s Jonathan Capehart and The New York Times's David Brooks. Following her TV show, the journalist was exposed to online violence and received threats from trolls.
On April 18, Senator Mallory McMorrow was accused of being a “groomer” in the campaign fundraising email of her Republican colleague. The Republicans labeled their Democratic opponents as groomers and pedophiles. The senator took the floor about the allegations and gave a viral speech on Tuesday. She responded Tuesday morning to accusations against the growing trend of being a “groom and sexualize kindergarteners.” She drew attention to the recent attacks against LGBTIQ+ individuals and Republicans targets against them. Her speech went viral within a day and was viewed over 9 million times in less than 24 hours when she posted it to her Twitter account.
Senator Lana Theis accused me by name of grooming and sexualizing children in an attempt to marginalize me for standing up against her marginalizing the LGBTQ community...in a fundraising email, for herself.
— Mallory McMorrow (@MalloryMcMorrow) April 19, 2022
Hate wins when people like me stand by and let it happen. I won't. pic.twitter.com/jL5GU42bTv
Amna took to her Instagram account and shared screenshots of various vile attacks she faced after her TV program. The journalist said she discussed the senator’s response, the QAnon, and conspiracy theory links to these accusations. Following the discussions, Amna said her comments, DMs, and messages were peppered with notes of sexist, misogynist attacks. The journalist was also accused of pedophilia and grooming based on the questions she raised in that discussion.
“These people went through my profiles and attached these notes to family photos, looked up my email, and sent me direct messages. For asking questions. For pointing out basic facts and distinguishing those from unfounded conspiracies. For doing my job. This is not discourse. This is dangerous,” she quoted on her Instagram account.
The Coalition For Women In Journalism extends solidarity to Amna Nawaz and urges law enforcement agencies to take action against this incitement to hatred. It is no secret that right-wing sentiment can be provoked on social media fairly easily, resulting in real-life consequences for members of vulnerable communities. Social media platforms need to devise more vigilant ways to prevent incidents like these.
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.
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