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Stef Schrader was on vacation in Germany last year when spam messages started to flood her inbox. Seeing random emails from Macy’s—and job alerts for the position of “Chief Idiot”—she realized someone had signed her work email up to dozens of email lists.

Journalists are frequently at risk of being harassed online in an attempt by hostile actors to intimidate or force them into silence. The harassment, most commonly directed at female journalists, often includes threats of violence against the journalist and their family and friends.

Solo work is becoming more common, especially for broadcast and video journalists. However, working alone can make journalists vulnerable to physical assault. For assignments in locations such as neighborhoods with high crime rates, protests, or remote areas, it is advisable that journalists do not work alone.

Journalists have long faced threats in reprisal for their work, and in the internet era, attackers can leverage information published on social media and professional websites to hack, abuse, shame, or defame their target.

Strong digital security is crucial for journalists, but dedicated training may be expensive or inaccessible. Luckily, there is a wealth of information online.

Sexual violence can take many forms, including sexual and physical assaults. Any individual can be the subject of sexual misconduct, but journalists are often at risk from a range of people, including sources and members of the public, while they are reporting. That risk is heightened for female or gender non-conforming journalists.

Beirut, September 3, 2019 — The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on the Iraqi Communications and Media Committee to reverse its three-month suspension of the U.S. government-funded Iraqi broadcaster Al-Hurra.

Miami, September 3, 2019 — The Committee to Protect Journalists today welcomed an announcement by the Honduran National Congress that the country will decriminalize defamation and slander.

New Delhi, September 3, 2019 — Maldivian authorities should prosecute those responsible for the 2014 killing of journalist Ahmed Rilwan Abdulla, including the planners of the attack as well as any government officials who interfered in the investigation, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.