In recent years, Spain has witnessed the emergence of a form of media bullying directed not only against survivors of abuse but also against those who support them. This phenomenon is also eroding one of the essential foundations of democracy: the distinction between journalism and justice.
As traditional media struggle with declining audiences and social media reshape the information landscape, many journalists have responded by strengthening their commitment to rigorous reporting, providing a reliable reference point in an environment saturated with misinformation and deliberate falsehoods. However, others have chosen a different path. In the race to generate the most spectacular scandal and maximize clicks or audiences, they conduct media trials in which they decide who is guilty, who is innocent, and even who is a victim long before the institutions responsible for establishing the facts have even begun their work.
The consequences extend far beyond the individuals directly targeted. When journalism abandons its competency and due process in favour of public condemnation, it weakens citizens’ confidence in both the media and democratic institutions. Public opinion is encouraged to replace evidence with spectacle and judicial guarantees with headlines. A cornerstone of democracy is the separation of the legislative, executive and judicial powers. When the fourth estate substitutes itself for the judiciary and exerts pressure on judicial decision-making, democracy is weakened and public trust in democratic institutions declines.
Democratic societies need a free press, but they also need a press that recognises the difference between informing the public and participating in campaigns of public intimidation. Freedom of expression is strengthened, not weakened, when it is accompanied by professional ethics, respect for due process and a commitment to factual accuracy.
In that race for sensationalism, some media outlets end up portraying perpetrators as victims and victims as perpetrators. By doing so, they amplify narratives that fuel isolating violence against those who stand with survivors, helping to stigmatize and isolate precisely the people who provide them with support.
Protecting survivors requires more than effective courts and support services. It also requires resisting media practices that silence, stigmatise or discredit those who report abuse or those who stand beside them. Journalism fulfils its democratic role when it gives voice to victims without becoming an instrument of harassment or a substitute for justice.
Assistant Lecturer at the University of the Basque Country