Trolling of female journalists on Twitter in Pakistan: an analysis

Abstract

In this study, we examined the trolling of female journalists on Twitter in Pakistan. Through quantitative and qualitative content analysis, we found the female journalists received offensive comments in which the trolls mocked their gender, profession, and personal lives. Though the trolls affiliated with the government produced more hate, opposition political parties and ordinary people also engaged in varying levels of gender-based slurs. Moreover, the journalists critical of the government received more negative comments than the pro-government journalists. Our findings show the trolls adopted a targeted approach in which the highly conservative cultural values were exploited to put social pressure on journalists to dissuade them against exercising their democratic rights.