Understanding the Mob : An Inside Perspective on Harassment and Threats Against Journalists in Sweden

Sammanfattning: High levels of harassment and threats against journalists have been observed globally. This thesis examines the lived experience of harassment and threats against journalists in Sweden through the lens of New Censorship Theory and Mob Censorship. The topic is explored through a series of qualitative interviews to better understand the effects on the journalists themselves and how they perceive their own situation. While censorship traditionally has been understood as a top-down phenomenon somewhat exclusive to authoritarian or quasi- authoritarian states, New Censorship Theory and Mob Censorship offer an opportunity to reexamine the consequences of how digital communication brings hatred to journalists in real time and how this in turn affects the journalists in their daily work. The results in this thesis suggest that harassment and threats against journalists come from several different groups with slightly different agendas The fact that all groups resort to intimidation indicates that there has been a shift in how journalism is perceived. The groups that attack journalists are also unevenly divided between local and national news outlets, resulting in different experiences depending on where a journalist is employed. The emerging situation might also force journalists who are deeply affected by harassment and threats to leave their careers all together, leaving only journalists with thicker skin. Finally, this thesis contributes towards a more complex understanding of the mechanics behind New Censorship Theory and Mob Censorship in liberal democracies.