Fatima, a Syrian journalist, has been relentlessly harassed, threatened, and blacklisted for her work. She can hardly bear to think about Syria now, let alone continue writing about the never-ending tragedy of the conflict. After years of covering anti-regime groups, freedom of expression, and gender issues, Fatima fled her home country due to the threats she faced. But even in exile in the U.K., the attacks have not stopped. Online and offline harassment continue to haunt her across borders.
As a woman who speaks out against both dictatorship and patriarchy, Fatima has faced ongoing digital attacks since 2011, when she began writing critically against the regime. Disinformation spread through posts and messages discrediting her, and groups on Facebook and WhatsApp circulated false claims about her political affiliations, along with a flood of sexist abuse aimed at silencing her. The attacks intensified not only because of her activism, but also because she is a woman. For example, she has been accused of being a “Western agent” for not wearing a hijab. She was also shamed for her working-class background and called a “whore” and “troublemaker” in numerous online comments.
Even in the U.K., the harassment follows her. She has been physically stalked and her social media and email accounts have been repeatedly targeted by hackers. Despite being in exile, Fatima receives warnings of state-sponsored digital attacks, a reminder that repression knows no borders. The threats have come from all sides – both the regime and anti-regime groups she criticized. “One of the main attacks against me,” she explains, “is that I criticize the rebels more than the regime.” This has left her distrustful of fellow Syrians she meets, wary of their potential ties to the regime.
Fatima’s family, including her daughter and uncle, was also attacked. Social media comments specifically mentioned her young daughter, a chilling reminder of how women’s families are often used as leverage to silence them. “It’s easier to silence women,” Fatima says. “They use your family to pressure you, and it works.” Fatima’s close family members urged her to stay quiet, making it not only the regime’s supporters who pressured her into silence, but also her family.
Fatima’s working-class background has amplified the pressure and harassment she faces. Her socioeconomic status has not only been weaponized in the attacks against her, but has also shaped the responses from her community, which might have been more supportive of an elite member facing similar harassment. “Being from an unprivileged family, poor background,” she reflects, “I think if I was of such a high class or whatever, or Bourgeoisie, or just influential, or have an influential parent, it wouldn’t have been the same.” These class dynamics add another layer to her struggle, as she continues to feel the weight of both societal and systemic marginalization.
These attacks have taken a toll on her mental health and daily life. Fatima has become suspicious of every email, message, or online contact, wondering if they might be part of the ongoing harassment. When she realized that writing about Syria led to intensified online attacks, she stopped. Now, if she does write about her home country, she only publishes in English, refusing to translate her work into Arabic to avoid the backlash. “Being scared of expressing my opinion is the main cause of my trauma,” she says.
To protect her family, Fatima asked them to deactivate their social media accounts and avoid responding to harassing messages. The fear for their safety has distanced her from her loved ones, including her parents in Syria, with whom she has not spoken in years.
Despite all these challenges, Fatima continues to advocate for greater accountability from social media platforms, particularly for Arabic-speaking women. She recalls how platforms like Facebook have been slow to remove harmful content, leaving her and others vulnerable to coordinated disinformation campaigns. Fatima dreams of a future where platforms have “a board of feminists” to advise on how to act when such incidents happen. She believes this would increase her sense of safety online and allow women like her to express their thoughts without fear of retaliation.