Female Journalist, Hariana Verás Victória, Targeted by Gendered Online Abuse Following Interview With Burundian President

A female journalist, Hariana Verás Victória, was subjected to coordinated gendered online abuse on X (formerly Twitter) on 14 January, following the publication of her interview with Burundian President Évariste Ndayishimiye. The attacks, carried out by multiple accounts, involved personal insults, gendered slurs, and unsubstantiated allegations questioning her professional legitimacy, rather than engaging with the substance of her journalistic work. The abuse occurred publicly on social media and appears to have been triggered by her coverage of political leaders in the Great Lakes region. The posts targeted Verás Victória’s credibility as a journalist, with users repeatedly referring to her as a “propagandist” and a “pseudo-journalist.” Several tweets used demeaning and gendered language, while others alleged, without evidence, that she was financially compromised or acting on behalf of political actors in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Burundi. In one widely circulated post, a user dismissed her professional identity by attacking her status as a correspondent and mocking her social media following, suggesting that she could not be a legitimate journalist without meeting arbitrary popularity thresholds. Another post accused her of fabricating her credentials and implied corrupt financial relationships, again without providing any verifiable proof. Rather than critiquing the content, framing, or editorial choices of the interview with President Ndayishimiye, the posts focused almost entirely on personal denigration, speculation about her motives, and efforts to publicly discredit her. The language used escalated beyond criticism into character assassination, a pattern commonly documented in online attacks against women journalists covering politics and power. The timing and tone of the posts suggest a retaliatory response to Verás Victória’s visibility and access as a journalist, particularly her engagement with high-level political figures. Such attacks reflect broader regional and global trends in which women journalists are targeted online through gendered abuse, delegitimization, and smear campaigns designed to silence, intimidate, or discourage continued reporting. Source: https://ellenkampire.com/2026/01/14/hariana-veras-victoria-a-naked-propagandist-that-masquerades-as-a-journalist/ https://x.com/rufagari/status/2011532582333391341