Death threats, phone tapping and stalking: The consequences academics can face from sharing their research

[DBoon]

https://phys.org/news/2024-12-death-threats-stalking-consequences-academics.html

When she passed her Ph.D. viva, literature researcher Ally Louks posted a picture of herself and her thesis on X (formerly Twitter) in November 2024. The photo shared her thesis title: "Olfactory Ethics: The politics of smell in modern and contemporary prose." The post garnered over 11,000 responses, some deeply negative. Louks received rape and death threats.
...
We have collected 85 survey responses and carried out 13 in-depth interviews with UK academics across disciplines in arts, humanities, health and environmental sciences. We found that 74% of the survey respondents said they had experienced online harms as a result of sharing research, whether in blog posts, traditional media—such as television and radio appearances and news articles—or social media.

The academics told us they lacked training on how to deal with online abuse, harassment and misrepresentation. This left them in vulnerable circumstances and unsupported by universities and research organizations. One said, "They [universities] offer training in how to communicate—write, be interviewed, etc—but absolutely nothing on how to deal with the difficult stuff."

Some of the academics we spoke to had, like Louks, received rape and death threats. They had faced Twitter pile-ons, abusive mail and emails, hacking and doxxing (having identifying information about them made public). Some had experienced stalking and targeted harassment at their workplaces and around their homes. In many cases, the academics' workplaces had been contacted with calls for them to resign.

Another example of vigilantes in action.

[Irish_Dem]

1. The goal is to discourage/destroy academic research.

Fascists hate scientists and academics.
The truth must not see the light of day on any topic.

[johnp3907]

2. I think it's ok if rich white guys do it.

I read it right here on Dee Yoo!