Editors Guild of India condemns abuse and intimidation of journalists ahead of Lok Sabha polls

The Editors Guild of India on Friday condemned incidents of abuse and intimidation of senior journalists in the run-up to the parliamentary election and urged the government to take necessary steps to bring the abusers to book.

The strong condemnation from the Editors Guild comes days after alleged harassment of journalist Barkha Dutt on social media. Dutt has alleged that she had received threat calls and had been harassed on social media after she offered to help Kashmiris who were being targeted following the Pulwama terror attack.

Several other senior journalists have also been targeted on social media with abuse and intimidation.

The Guild, in a statement, said it strongly condemns the recent tirade of abuse and intimidation against the media and many senior journalists, especially women, in the wake of their reportage and commentary in the run-up to the general elections.

"Since much of this is being done through social media, especially Twitter, the Guild urges their respective managements to exercise due caution and a sense of responsibility," the statement said.

"Some of what is being allowed to pass clearly amounts to sexual abuse or instigation to violence. Corporations owning these platforms need reminding themselves that they must not allow unlawful behaviour. Business models thriving on hate of any kind are reprehensible," it said.

The Guild said it believes there is no place for such social media abuse and threats of physical violence in a democracy.

Differences of opinion should be respected and resolved through a robust but civil dialogue and debate, it said.

The Guild had issued a statement on some of these issues on June 3, 2018, as well.

The Guild urged the government to take necessary steps to bring the abusers to book.

"Police cybercrime cells should address these complaints on priority. The relevant ministries and regulators should also ensure greater clarity on the laws to ensure accountability on the part of social media platforms," it said.

Laws on sexual harassment, intimidation and incitement to violence should be strictly enforced on those using social media and nobody should be allowed to hide behind anonymity, the Guild said.