Guyana: State-Affiliated Trolls Discredit And Intimidate Davina Bagot | CFWIJ Demands Authorities Stop Harassment
Location: Georgetown, Guyana
Date: April 14, 2023
Polarization and attacks against journalists in Guyana reach boiling point in recent targeting of Kaieteur News reporter Davina Bagot.
On April 14, 2023, a Facebook page believed to be affiliated with the Guyanan government posted a derogatory post featuring Kaieteur News reporter Davina Bagot. The post follows a heated press conference on April 1st in which the President of the country, Irfaan Ali, refused to respond to Bagot. While asking questions, supporters of the government intimidated the journalist.
“I've been crying all morning,” Bagot told the president of Guyana’s press association Nazima Raghubir. “I am worried about my safety, my career, my life.”
“I am worried about my safety, my career, my life”
The post in question aims at discrediting Bagot, insinuating she is involved in an extramarital affair with an opposition politician and behind online troll accounts targeting pro-government posts.
Nazima Raghubi, who has led the country’s 75-year-old press association since 2018, was targeted by the same Facebook page on April 15th. She is worried these online attacks may lead to more severe violations.
“My fear is that his supporters get riled up by and that I become a target,” Raghubi tells CFWIJ.
Press freedom
Although Guyana’s journalists are generally respected and able to do their job, since COVID, the South American country has seen a decline in press freedom. A recent law allows authorities to “arrest journalists who oppose their political parties.”
Raghubir tells CFWIJ polarization has increased, with authorities limiting access to independent media and labeling journalists biased, “trump-style.”
“To outright abuse journalists like this should be a concern and should be condemned by everybody”
“They abuse anyone who they think is anti-government, who is critical,” Raghubir says. President Irfaan Ali publicly insulted her in 2022, followed by a barrage of anonymous letters and social media messages.
“I feel like criticism is one thing,” Raghubir says “but to outright abuse journalists like this should be a concern and should be condemned by everybody.”
Ethnic Tensions
Both Bagot and Raghubir are Indo-Guyanese women with Afro-Guyanese partners. Raghubir believes this might be an additional reason for the attacks.
Multicultural Guyana is largely comprised of people of African and Indian descent. Tensions between the two demographic blocks are felt explicitly in the political field - with a winner-take-all constitution and political parties divided by ethnic makeup, according to Jason S. Calder, head of the Washington office of Saferworld.
Bagot is accused of being the mistress of an opposition politician of African descent.
Self-censorship
On April 1st, after President Ali had refused to answer Bagot’s questions and government supporters intimidated her, other independent media outlets opted out of asking questions, Raghubir tells CFWIJ.
“This sends people into self-censorship. She doesn’t want to cover the stories anymore”
“This sends people into self-censorship,” Raghubir says, explaining that Bagot isn’t sure she wants to continue her journalism work. “She is afraid about what is going to happen.”
Non-governmental organizations in the country have condemned the attacks on the women journalists, saying they “place a target on the backs of reporters.”
The Coalition For Women In Journalism condemns the online and in-person attacks by authorities and pro-government actors against women journalists. This campaign to attack their characters, dignity, and professional integrity is reprehensible. The government must immediately address the situation to protect the sanctity of political discourse in the country.
The Coalition For Women In Journalism is a global organization of support for women journalists. The CFWIJ pioneered mentorship for mid-career women journalists across several countries around the world and is the first organization to focus on the status of free press for women journalists. We thoroughly document cases of any form of abuse against women in any part of the globe. Our system of individuals and organizations brings together the experience and mentorship necessary to help female career journalists navigate the industry. Our goal is to help develop a strong mechanism where women journalists can work safely and thrive.
If you have been harassed or abused in any way, and please report the incident by using the following form.