Journalists’ association calls out online harassment of media workers

With the world celebrating Press Freedom Day, the institute of Maltese Journalists has called out the online harassment of media workers. 

In a statement to commemorate the occasion, the IGM said that while scrolling through media portal comment boards, one easily notices “vile threats and bullying”. 

“This is not and will never be tolerable. We can never accept any type of blatant hatred towards people who work tirelessly to provide the public with factually correct information, having to compete with a wave of misinformation that litters most social media platforms,” the institute said.

It called on authorities, including politicians to denounce anti-media rhetoric. 

“Citizens can only form informed opinions if they have clear answers to pertinent questions, and information based on factual truth,” the IGM said. 

The institute also made reference to Prime Minister Robert Abela’s comments on Friday,where he said that he would appreciate it if journalists would ask on the subject in hand, after questions by MaltaTodayand other newspapers were related to migration rather than the lifting of measures. 

“While you might have uttered all information that could be communicated at the time on such a subject, journalists’ questions can never be restricted to a particular subject that the authority deems fit. This, on the contrary, simply fuels more hatred towards what constitutes the fourth pillar in a democracy,” it said. 

The institute also welcomed Opposition leader Adrian Delia’s initiative in having questions fielded by journalists hailing from independent media. 

“This is a step in the right direction,” the IGM said, calling on the PM to follow suit. 

Reacting to Malta’s position in the World Press Freedom Index issued by Reporters Without Borders, the IGM said such a position is “worrying as much as it is disappointing.”

“IĠM agrees that weaknesses in the rule of law ultimately hinders journalism and that much more needs to be done to allow journalists access to important information,” it said. 

The IGM also said that on this day, it remembers slain journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.