A few years ago, I noticed something odd while covering a political story online. A female politician had given a routine interview. The policy she discussed barely registered.
Instead, the story took on a life of its own because of the comments underneath it. Thousands of them. Angry, mocking, sometimes vicious. Within hours, the ‘reaction’ to the interview became the story.
By the end of the day, several news sites were reporting on the backlash itself. The politician had become less important than the outrage.
Ahead of International Women’s Day, it is worth asking how often this pattern repeats -and what role the media now plays in amplifying it. Hostility toward women in public life is nothing new.
Women in politics, business, journalism and activism have faced criticism for decades. But the scale and speed of online backlash have changed the environment dramatically.
What has also changed is how newsrooms interact with that backlash.
Digital reaction to events
In the past, journalists reported events. Today, they increasingly report the digital reaction to events. Social media has become both the source and subject of a story. A comment thread becomes a headline. A viral tweet becomes a news peg. A trending hashtag becomes evidence of “public response”.
Sometimes that response reflects genuine public sentiment. But sometimes it simply reflects the mechanics of online platforms, where anger spreads faster than nuance and where algorithms reward the loudest voices.
The result is that outrage does not merely exist online. It is often pulled into mainstream news coverage and amplified further.
Journalists have always understood that conflict attracts attention. But digital platforms have introduced a feedback loop. Content that provokes strong reactions is pushed higher in feeds, shared more widely and discussed more intensely.
Amplifying feedback loop
When newsrooms rely heavily on social media to gauge what people are talking about, they can unintentionally import that same amplification into their reporting.
This matters particularly when the subject is women in public life.
Studies from organisations such as UNESCO and the International Centre for Journalists have documented the scale of online harassment directed at female journalists and politicians. Abuse can range from personal insults to coordinated campaigns of intimidation.
Often it focuses less on the substance of a woman’s work and more on her appearance, family or personal life. The danger arises when this hostility itself becomes news.
Articles begin to appear summarising the abuse. Headlines highlight the backlash. Screenshots of hostile comments circulate widely. In trying to report the phenomenon, the media sometimes – unwittingly – ends up extending its reach.
Organised trolling
None of this means journalists should ignore online hostility. The harassment of women in public life is a serious issue that deserves scrutiny. Reporting on digital abuse can expose patterns of intimidation, reveal organised trolling networks and hold platforms accountable.
But it requires careful editorial judgement. We need to ask how and when reporting on it serves the public interest. Does covering a wave of online anger help audiences understand a broader social issue? Or does it simply give oxygen to voices that thrive on attention?
The pressures inside modern newsrooms complicate these decisions. Editors face constant competition for audience attention. Metrics measure clicks, shares and engagement in real time. Stories that generate strong reactions rise quickly through digital dashboards.
In that environment, the temptation to chase outrage can be powerful. Yet journalism has always required resisting the easy story in favour of the necessary one.
Gatekeeping is vital
Editors decide every day what deserves amplification and what does not. That gatekeeping function has not disappeared in the digital age; if anything, it has become more important.
Women’s Day is often framed as a celebration of female achievement. But it can also be a moment of reflection on the environments women must navigate when they step into public life.
For women in politics, leadership and media, the online sphere has become an unavoidable extension of the public arena. Social media offers visibility and connection, but it also exposes women to scrutiny that can turn personal and relentless.
Journalists sit at an important junction in this ecosystem. They are observers of digital discourse but also participants in shaping how that discourse spreads.
When outrage becomes the story
The question is not whether media organisations report on controversy. Controversy is part of public life. The question is whether journalism clarifies what is happening – or simply magnifies the noise.
The responsibility is not to sanitise debate. Robust criticism is a normal part of democratic life.
But when hostility toward women becomes a form of entertainment, journalism should pause before turning it into content. Because once outrage becomes the story, it rarely stops there.
Paula Slier is an international journalist and speaker who works on information warfare, disinformation and media literacy. She has reported from conflict zones across the Middle East, Africa and Europe.
