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Around the world, nearly 4 in 10 journalists covering the environment and the climate crisis have been victims of threats of all kinds because of their work, reveals a recent and detailed report by university researchers in Australia. In Quebec, specialized journalists consulted by The duty do not report physical threats, but they say they receive their share of harassing emails and insults on social networks.
The international report also reveals that 11% of journalists in this field have suffered physical violence and some have even seen their colleagues murdered. A third of those surveyed also report having received threats of legal action.
The study Covering the Planet was carried out by a team from Deakin University, in Australia: its researchers carried out an anonymous survey — from October 2023 to January 2024 — among 744 journalists covering the environment in 102 countries, in addition to conducting detailed interviews with 74 journalists.
One of the main findings is that 39% of journalists surveyed reported that they are “occasionally or often” threatened. The same proportion of them admit to having censored themselves out of fear for their safety. The threats mostly come from those carrying out illicit activities that harm the environment, they say, such as illegal logging.
Killed because they covered the environment
For researchers, this data is far from anecdotal: “Between 2005 and 2016, it is estimated that 40 journalists were killed in connection with their work covering the environment — more than the number of journalists killed covering the US war in Afghanistan,” their report reads.
Some made headlines, like British journalist Dom Phillips, murdered in Brazil in 2022, but others remained in the shadows, like Shubham Mani Tripathi, killed in 2020 while covering illegal mining activities in India.
According to Reporters Without Borders (RSF), journalists who work in the environment are more likely to experience violence than others.
Covering the Planet did not evaluate the content of journalistic articles: rather, the study aimed to give a voice to journalists and their experiences, asking them for their observations on a host of subjects.
Like any study, this one has its limitations: for example, journalists from certain countries were over-represented compared to others. But the general findings resemble those of the UNESCO study published last May. If the latter reports instead that 70% of environmental journalists have been attacked, threatened or have suffered pressure linked to their activities, this proportion – higher than the 40% of Deakin’s study – can be explained by a somewhat different methodology. little different and the fact that it includes “pressures” in its percentage.
Insults in Quebec
In Quebec, three journalists specializing in the environment interviewed by The duty have not reported any threats to their physical integrity, but they emphasize that their email boxes are filled with harassing messages and insults.
“Every day,” reports our colleague and contributor to Courrier de la planet Alexandre Shields, assigned to environmental files.
He was notably called a “drain” for his articles and one Internet user even invited him to take his own life. “It’s not: ‘I’m going to beat the shit out of you,’ but it’s still a very violent statement. » Social media has made attacks on journalists much easier, he says.
The insults are often “very personal, very nasty,” adds Étienne Leblanc, journalist for Radio-Canada. “I get called names every time I post anything related to climate change. » This type of email has “increased tenfold” over the past eight-nine years, he notes.
“It can be very heavy. We are human,” underlines Éric-Pierre Champagne, journalist for The Press and president of the Professional Federation of Journalists of Quebec (FPJQ).
Environmental journalism is more important than ever because we need to make the right decisions, and for that to happen, people need to be informed
The three agree on several points: what they experience in Quebec is much less difficult, compared to their colleagues in certain corners of the planet, such as those who write, for example, on deforestation in the Amazon. “They risk their lives every day, just because they do their job,” says Shields.
For his part, Mr. Leblanc notes that he did not receive threats here, but that he felt “pressure” when he was covering abroad: for example, in the Mexican state of Chiapas and in Egypt, where he and his team “knew they were being followed.”
Furthermore, all three insisted on this: female journalists are more targets of hatred than them.
Rise of climate skepticism
Finally, they believe that harassment and intimidation of environmental journalists have increased since the end of the restrictions imposed by governments during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“There is an upsurge in climate skepticism,” notes Mr. Champagne, who believes that citizens concerned about health measures and the vaccine have since invested their energy in protesting against measures aimed at reducing global warming.
The three experienced journalists say they do not engage in self-censorship for fear of reprisals, contrary to the trend noted in the report Covering the Planet.
Mr. Leblanc notes, however, that one of his colleagues preferred to “pass her turn” when the possibility of doing a report on SUVs was discussed, the last one she had written on the subject having sparked a wave of violent insults.
Asked about possible solutions to this toxic climate for journalists, the president of the FPJQ, Éric-Pierre Champagne, responded: “Continue to do our work and do it well, by investing in coverage and taking the time to explain climate issues well. »
He also deplores the tendency of certain politicians to treat journalists in the environment as “activists”, which has the consequence of undermining their credibility, a situation also noted in the Deakin University report. And at the same time, citizens accuse journalists of being the mouthpieces of the government, adds Mr. Leblanc.
Asked to share thoughts on the report Covering the PlanetMr. Shields says it demonstrates “that environmental journalism is more important than ever because we have to make the right decisions, and to do that, people have to be informed.”
For his part, the president of the FPJQ is delighted to note that media coverage of the environment is growing all over the world.
As for Mr. Leblanc, he says he is happy to live in a democracy where he can do his work. But he sometimes admits to thinking, with the violence of the reactions growing, that ultimately, “it wouldn’t take much” for the opposition to “reach another level”.