Baloi, clever blacks and magogo: Language as symbolic action in online violence against South African female journalists on X

Abstract This study examines online violence against South African female journalists on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), focusing on language as a tool for mob censorship. The study analyses 600 posts directed at selected female journalists targeted because of their gender and their reporting on high-profile individuals and events. Through qualitative content analysis, the study reveals how name-calling and chastisement are used to belittle, admonish, and with the aim to ultimately silence these women. Name-calling, particularly based on race and gender, employs stereotypes and derogatory terms to try to discredit the journalists and undermine their authority. Chastisement, through sexual innuendo and the weaponisation of mental health, attempts to control and shame these women by dictating how they should behave. This study expands our understanding of name-calling as a weaponised form of digital press criticism used to delegitimise and shame journalists, particularly in a non-Western context.