On September 13, the Hong Kong Journalists Association (HKJA) revealed a dramatic increase in harassment against journalists across the city from June to August 2024, largely driven by pro-China ‘patriots’ online. Selina Cheng, chair of the HKJA, stated in a press conference that dozens of journalists had been the subject of defamatory emails and letters sent to their families, places of employment, landlords, and other groups or organisations they are associated with.

Among those targeted include students from two journalism education institutions and media workers from 13 international and local media outlets, including Hong Kong Free Press, the Hong Kong Free Press, and HK Feature, as well as members of the HKJA’s executive committee.

Many of the letters and emails warned recipients that maintaining any connection with the targeted journalists or their family members could breach Article 23 of the National Security Law. Additionally, there were four instances where trolls used Facebook and Wikipedia to issue threats of violence, including death threats, by posting graphic photos of the targetted journalist and their respective family members while at least eight reporters have received threatening letters at their home residence. The HKJA expressed a deep concern over how such personal data and addresses were obtained.

The HKJA has further documented the sharing of ‘hateful content’ targeting journalists and media outlets in private Facebook groups, with at least 26 journalists the subject of online abuse.

The HKJA and several affected journalists have issued formal complaints and reports to law enforcement and have called on any further targeted individuals to make complaints with the police. The parent companies of Facebook and Wikipedia, Meta and the Wikimedia Foundation, have launched investigations into the behaviour.

IFJ said: “The IFJ strongly condemns the increase in threats, harassment, and intimidation experienced by Hong Kong’s media community over the past few months. Journalists and news outlets should not be the subject of abuse for their reporting, and these allegations must be subject to a thorough and immediate investigation from police.”