Online Harassment Against Journalists: A Socio-Legal and Working-Life Study of the Challenges and Impacts in Swedish Journalism

Integrating socio-legal analysis and working life science, this compilation thesis aims to enhance the understanding of how the evolving digital landscape—particularly the rise of online harassment—influences journalism and its potential to foster healthy public discourse. Additionally, the thesis seeks to advance the field of socio-legal studies by examining the interplay between digital transformation, shifting norms, and the intersection of informal and formal social controls. Utilizing a triangulated mixed-method approach—comprised of a survey, Twitter data mining, and interviews with media managers—the empirical focus is on exploring the interplay between perceptions of legal conditions, manifestations of online harassment, the consequences of such harassment for journalists, and workplace dynamics in relation to increased external pressure on journalists and news organizations.

The first paper assesses journalists' perspectives on the legal framework's effectiveness against unlawful online harassment, identifying a gap in protection and underscoring the need for enhanced legal resources. However, the empirical data also reveal that online harassment frequently occurs within the realm of the work environment rather than remaining solely a matter for criminal law. The second paper, through a sociopragmatic lens, examines online harassment on Twitter (X), revealing strategies that merge impoliteness, moral discourse, and anti-press rhetoric to negatively influence journalists and challenge professional credibility while also highlighting the paradoxical use of freedom of speech to suppress journalistic expression. The third paper, informed by institutional theory, analyzes how Swedish news organizations manage the psychosocial effects of online harassment, noting a focus on physical safety over mental strain and the need for a more holistic approach to harassment management. This paper aims to achieve a deeper understanding of the factors that contribute to resilience against self-censorship induced by online harassment, as well as the factors that exacerbate it, leading to withdrawal and reluctance among journalists.

Overall, this thesis emphasizes the challenges facing the legal system and news organizations in addressing systematic efforts to undermine journalism's autonomy through online harassment disguised as free speech. It shows that such disorientation is intertwined with the emergence of new communication norms and the absence of effective (formal and informal) mechanisms for fostering healthy public discourse. It demonstrates that efforts to safeguard these public values—journalists' free speech and, in turn, freedom of information—are largely misdirected, with a heavy focus on criminal law rather than on building a resilient work environment within journalism. Accordingly, the thesis cements online harassment as a work environment issue, illustrating the importance of acknowledging this problem at the intersection of digital transformation, working life, and democratic values.