The WVU Reed School of Media and Communications held a digital security and safety workshop to help media professionals and other public figures stay safe in the digital age.
Participants met at the Media Innovation Center Oct. 16 for a three-hour hands-on workshop conducted by Harlo Holmes of Freedom of the Press Foundation and Jeje Mohamed from PEN America. Both Freedom of the Press Foundation and PEN America are dedicated to protecting free expression and helping journalists, writers, artists and the public safely communicate with sources and the public.
Dana Coester, a professor in the Reed School, organized the event and serves in a leadership role with the Coalition Against Online Violence for the International Women in Media Foundation (IWMF).
“Over the past few years, I have often heard from colleagues after they have experienced harassment or threat, which is not a good time to begin thinking about digital safety,” she said. “I’ve started to devote more time to trainings like this to help professionals, young people and the general public build up their resilience and skills in digital safety.”
The free workshop was part of the WVU College of Creative Arts and Media’s First Amendment and Free Expression programming. Recent research by the Pew Research Center shows that 42% of journalists face job-related harassment outside their workplace, most of which happens on social media platforms.
"One of my biggest takeaways from the event was not merely the tech, but the basic discussion of how you as an individual can help when someone, particularly a journalist, is attacked on social media," said Nancy Andrews, an award-winning independent journalist, photographer and author who attended the workshop. "Simply starting with basic human decency by reaching out and asking, ‘How are you? How can I help?’ is a start. Then, of course, there are follow-up ways to help. This [knowledge] is particularly important in today's world with so many independent journalists, smaller newsrooms and fewer newsrooms across the board."
The workshop was also designed for at-risk practitioners in communications, education, the arts and civil society organizations. Throughout the event, attendees conducted personal and organizational threat assessments, examined the current best ethical practices online and in the field and learned how to build their digital resilience – the ability to recover from challenges faced in the digital landscape. They also learned about new safety tools and device settings.
"Digital security is not a one-and-done thing," Andrews said. "You have to be vigilant about your security and stay up to date, so continuing education is important. What am I doing right? What could I do better? What am I not thinking about? And, even, what should I not be as worried about?"
An online presence is often required in public-facing careers, which can lead to anonymous threats and harassment. The workshop presented ways for professionals to stay safe while exercising their right to free expression.
"Digital safety is essential for anyone, not just journalists," Andrews said. "We all need to feel free to speak and not come under threat or attack. Think about it in reverse: the lack of digital safety has a chilling effect on free speech and, thus, freedom of the press. It hits us at our fundamental core, our ability to publish freely."
For information on future events, visit https://creativeartsandmedia.wvu.edu/events.