I HAVE lost count in the past year or more — or however long it has been since the world seemed to upend itself — of the occasions when it seemed a new low has been struck in what are parlous and depressing levels of public discourse in Britain.  

Whether it is manufactured outrage, coordinated social media pile-ons, the trumping of common sense by determined political ideology or ill thought-out knee-jerk commentary — or a combination of all of those things — the cumulative impact is of dysfunctional engagement and weakening standards in public life.  

Whatever the motivations, and whether or not it happens in the online sphere, it has a real-life personal and professional impact — not least for individuals caught up in the online fallout, where aggressive and hostile voices are often amplified even if the number of trolls leading the charge are comparatively few.  

Abuse is hurled so frequently, and often so readily, that it is behaviour and commentary that has become normalised. Par for the course. Inhabiting space that should be taken up by reasoned debate.  

It is also clear such abuse is disproportionately levelled at women and those from black and minority ethnic backgrounds. 

A recent survey of more than 900 journalists carried out in 125 counties by Unesco found nearly three-quarters of female journalists had experienced online hostility of some sort, while a quarter had been threatened with sexual violence and death. 

Filipina journalist Maria Ressa was receiving 90 hate messages an hour on Facebook alone and Ghada Oueiss, an Al Jazeera Arabic presenter, was getting at least one death threat every day she was on air.  

The NUJ has seen a spike in threats, harassment, and attacks on and offline against journalists in the last 18 months. 

The NUJ surveyed members and found that journalists had been punched, threatened with knives, forcibly detained, kicked and spat at. 

NUJ members have also received online death threats, rape threats and other threats to physically harm them, their families and their homes. 

The broader intent of such behaviour is obvious — these are attempts to silence journalists and censor debate, and this behaviour is having an impact on journalists and journalism at unprecedented levels.  

After the outrageous mobbing of BBC journalist Nick Watt, it was sickening to read countless accusations of him being a shill, collaborator, alongside praise for the individuals chasing and haranguing him and regret that he wasn’t beaten or strung up. 

That this stuff is published with impunity is proof of the failure of the tech giants and the need for effective regulation. 

It is also, however, a dangerous indicator of the levels of hostility facing journalists daily, who are at the front line documenting a polarised society where elements — fanned by far-right agitators and aided by conspiracy theorists — are increasingly viewing journalists as working hand in glove with the deep state, propagating lies and working to hoodwink, not to inform.  

The NUJ and our members are dealing with the consequences of this threat — whether on demonstrations, in attacks on journalists and their homes, and in abuse and harassment carried out online. 

It is driving our participation in the government’s national committee for the safety of journalists and associated action plan, and it is motivating the pressure we bring to bear on the police to ensure journalists can work safely, free from attack. 

But we need to do more, and part of the problem is the wider diminution of standards we are seeing play out in the public sphere.  

Politicians need to lead from the front. They cannot on the one hand launch the world’s first safety plan for journalists, and then indulge in behaviour that imperils them. The dismissal of reports and news they disagree with cannot any longer be dismissed as “fake.”

The Prime Minister and government ministers should not be allowed to get away with trolling individual journalists, impugning them and undermining their credibility.  

It is the function of the media to call out distortions and lies from all quarters.

We cannot allow the further erosion of minimum norms and should instead strive for higher standards.

One of the NUJ’s motions at TUC Congress this year asks the trade union movement to acknowledge the vital role journalism plays in a democratic society, commits the TUC to campaign to improve public discourse and calls on the tech giants to stamp out racist abuse, disinformation and fake news. 

Michelle Stanistreet is general secretary of the NUJ.