Death threats. Racist taunts. Vows of violence. Inside the increasingly personal attacks targeting Canadian female journalists, a growing number are speaking out on social media.
A series of events over the past week may have sparked the hashtag #NotToday hashtag that began online, where women in Canada and the U.S. have begun sharing their frustration with online trolls.
Story continues below advertisement
“I can’t imagine what you all are going through, I can’t wrap my head around the idea of being a target,” tweeted Laura Payton of the Ottawa Citizen. “The comments in the news have not made a dent in me. I guess I will have to live in the constant fear of being targeted.”
Ms. Payton’s tweet sparked a flurry of responses from Twitter users, including the ones who shared Ms. Payton’s personal experience of rape threats, death threats and racist comments – and some who said the comments targeted female journalists and the women who reported them.
“As a woman working in journalism, I was made to fear for my life because I didn’t believe in myself,” tweeted Mary Beth Pate, a journalist for the National Post who is black.
She then directed her tweet to the CBC News, which runs a Twitter account for its own female reporters, and the Globe and Mail, which is a daily newspaper owned by the Sun Media group.
“I’m sure there’ll be a few more women who have experienced it, but for me that was like a really good moment that made all of the attacks against me worth it,” added Ms. Pate, whose account was suspended last month for using the hashtag.
She later deleted the tweet but apologized on Twitter for her comments. “I am going to delete my Tweets regarding the attack, but I will not take the apology away,” the tweet read.
On Saturday, Ms. Pate sent another tweet to the CBC News, saying she had been the target of “unacceptable behaviour” on social media.
Story continues below advertisement
“To all women on social media, be safe. If anything happens to you, the CBC will not stand for it. It’s time for a reckoning on social media,” Ms. Pate wrote.
“As a non-native English speaker and someone who
