Online attacks on journalists: why reporting them matters

When journalists are attacked online, the first response is often to ignore it, block the account and move on. Sometimes that is the safest immediate choice. But it should not be the only response. Online abuse against journalists needs to be recorded because it can show patterns such as who is being targeted, what kind of language is being used, which platforms are involved, whether the attacks are coordinated and whether they are escalating from insults to threats.

That is where MARS, the Media Attack Reporting System, becomes useful.

MARS is an initiative of Moxii Africa, formerly Media Monitoring Africa. It gives journalists a place to report online attacks, including harassment, hate speech, racism, misinformation or disinformation and incitement to violence. The platform records where attacks happen, with Twitter/X currently accounting for the largest number of reported attacks in the data shared by MARS.

For journalists, the process should be practical. Do not only delete or ignore the abuse. Take screenshots. Save the links. Record the date, time, platform and account name. Note whether the attack is personal, racist, sexist, threatening, coordinated, or linked to a particular story you published. Tell your editor or newsroom manager, especially if the abuse is persistent or contains threats.

Reporting it also matters because one isolated insult may not show much but a pattern of repeated abuse does. It can help newsrooms assess risk, support affected journalists and decide when to escalate a matter.

MARS can also help strengthen engagement with online platforms. Platforms often require evidence before they act. A documented report makes it easier to show that content or the same user has breached platform rules on harassment, hate speech, threats or targeted abuse. Where appropriate, documented attacks can also support further escalation, including legal action.

This is especially important ahead of the 2026 Local Government Elections. Journalists covering politics, voting, service delivery, corruption or local power struggles may become targets for doing their jobs. Newsrooms should make reporting abuse part of their election safety planning. Journalists should know where to report, what evidence to keep and who in the newsroom must be alerted.