Wrong means to an end

The media have lost much of the authority they once commanded as anyone with a keyboard and an internet connection can claim to be “media” these days.

This newfound equality between different outlets also allows for immediate and often scathing criticism of every word written or uttered by people whose job it is to report the news and comment on it. However, these pluralist tools of oversight are also systematically abused as a means of spreading hate.

Politicians have been known to make an online career out of lambasting the media and journalists.

Thursday’s attack on Athens Voice was fresh proof that the distance between toxic rhetoric and all-out violence is very small. The demand for more responsible media is not served in any way by terrorizing them.