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Ministers urged to act over online abuse of journalists in Ireland


NUJ


THE NUJ has joined Mediahuis Ireland, the country’s largest publisher, and national broadcaster RTÉ in calling for action to end online attacks on journalists in Ireland. The rise in abuse on social media was highlighted in a joint


letter to Catherine Martin, minister for tourism, culture, arts, gaeltacht, sport and media; Helen McEntee, justice minister, and Drew Harris, Garda commissioner. The letter also calls for an urgent meeting too address the issue. The move follows a presentation last year by NUJ general


secretary Michelle Stanistreet to Mediahuis on the union’s work in the UK on the safety of journalists and on efforts by the national committee on the safety of journalists. The call came as the Irish government published an online


safety bill and the three organisations highlighted the online abuse of women journalists in particular. The letter also describes the abuse suffered by NUJ member


Rodney Edwards as a result of his coverage of the activities of anti-vaccination campaigners for the Sunday Independent. Séamus Dooley, the NUJ’s assistant general secretary, said: “Social media platforms have become a toxic battleground. Tech giants must take action to end the relentless abuse that threatens to undermine many benefits of social media.


“There is widespread concern about the societal impact of online abuse and a growing momentum for action. Our purpose in writing to the government and gardai is to draw attention to the specific implications for media workers – and freedom of expression, of online abuse.” The letter said: “We are writing to you to highlight our


concerns about the continuing increase in social media abuse of journalists and with a view to urgently meeting you to tackle this issue in a meaningful way.”


Rule 24 report over Protasevichcomments


A SPY allegation by one NUJ member against another has been retracted after a rule 24 complaint. This involves comments made on the NUJ’s Facebook page about the arrest of Belarussian journalist and activist Roman Protasevich in May last year. The complainant and the


respondent agreed to a conciliated outcome in the form of a statement. The Journalist has a duty to


report rule 24 findings. The following statement has been made following a rule 24 complaint by Simon Pirani lodged against Tony Gosling. ‘This was for breaches that


were made of articles 1,2,3 and 4 of the NUJ Code of Conduct. ‘Tony Gosling apologises


for having directly implied that Roman Protasevich is a spy, and retracts his allegation. He made his suggestions on the NUJ’s Facebook page following Mr Protasevich’s arrest by the


Belarussian authorities, after the flight he was on was rerouted to Minsk. ‘Mr Gosling acknowledges


that by directly implying Mr Protasevich was a spy he breached the NUJ Code of Conduct as follows: ‘a) making his statements


as part of his comments on Mr Protasevich’s arrest by the


Belarusian authorities breached Clause 1; ‘b) making his statements when he had no evidence that Mr Protasevich was a spy breached Clause 2; ‘c) when invited to retract


his statements he refused to do so thereby breaching Clause 3; ‘d) he made no effort to


differentiate between fact and opinion in breach of Clause 4.’


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04 | theJournalist


Our purpose is to highlight the specific implications for media workers of online abuse


Séamus Dooley NUJ assistant general secretary


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