In the aftermath of the Roe v Wade decision, US journalists are wary of online legal threats
US reporters have shared their concerns with the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) about the online harassment they face. However, it does not end there. They are even concerned about real-world violence in the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v Wade in June. The current abortion situation in America has put some reporters on edge. The Rewire newsroom is keeping a repository of harassing messages to track patterns.
The editors of the pro-abortion rights news website Rewire unexpectedly removed reporters’ biographies from the site in May.
The move was made as a precaution after a draft of the Supreme Court’s majority opinion in Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which sought to overturn the constitutional right to abortion, was leaked. Rewire reporters were concerned about an increase in online harassment.
Editor-in-chief Galina Espinoza said, ‘The newsroom has for years kept a repository of harassing messages to track patterns, just in case.’ The current abortion situation in America has put some reporters on edge.
In addition to fearing online harassment, reporters notified the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) that they are concerned about real-world violence and how changing laws may expose them and their sources to legal threats in the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v Wade in June.
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