The senior editor at The Wire says she’s facing threatening calls and online abuse after her details were leaked following her appeal for peace.
NEW DELHI – Arfa Khanum Sherwani, an award-winning journalist and senior editor at The Wire, has said she is being targeted with hate, threats, and vulgar messages after posting an anti-war message on social media. Her private phone number and email address were allegedly made public, leading to what she describes as a “dangerous” and coordinated online harassment campaign.
In a post shared on X (formerly Twitter) on Friday, Arfa wrote: “For the past 24 hours, I have been receiving continuous threatening messages and calls. This is harassment. This is dangerous. And it should not be tolerated.”
Screenshots shared by her show messages filled with obscene language, communal slurs, and attacks on her religious identity. One message read, “You are a Muslim. That is why you have so much sympathy for terrorist Pakistan. But now the game is over.”
Others mocked Islam, used offensive language about the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), and shared disturbing images, including the desecration of the Holy Quran. Many of the messages accused her of being “pro-Pakistan” and told her to “stay in Pakistan.”
The abuse began after Arfa posted a brief appeal for peace in the context of rising military tensions. “Peace is patriotic. War is destruction. Borders do not shed blood — people do. Stop the war. Now de-escalate the tension immediately,” she wrote.
Her post received wide attention, but also sparked a flood of hate, including from users promoting Hindutva views. Some users mocked her words on peace, calling them “unpatriotic” or “anti-national.”
According to fact-checker and co-founder of Alt News, Mohammad Zubair, the harassment was not random. He pointed out that an account called “Hindutva Night,” allegedly run by a man named Chandan Sharma, had earlier targeted other Muslim journalists.
Zubair wrote on X: “This is the same account that had earlier made public the phone number of journalist Rana Ayyub and encouraged followers to send her messages.”
Such activities — publishing personal information to provoke abuse, also known as doxing — are increasingly used to target journalists, especially Muslim and female journalists.
Journalist Meena Mohan called the campaign against Arfa “shameful” and urged the government to take immediate action. “This is criminal behaviour. If a woman journalist can’t even write about peace without being abused, what does it say about our democracy?” she asked.
So far, there has been no official statement from law enforcement or the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. Critics say the silence only encourages such abuse.
Activists say attacks on Muslim journalists have become common in recent years, especially when they speak up on sensitive issues.
“The hate is not just about a tweet. It is about her identity as a Muslim woman speaking her mind,” said Afreen Fatima, a student activist.
“This is not just online abuse — it is a pattern of silencing Muslim voices in the media,” she added.
Media experts say doxing and online threats have become a daily reality for outspoken journalists, especially women. A report by the International Federation of Journalists last year highlighted how journalists in India face increasing levels of online violence.
Senior journalist Nidhi Razdan posted: “What Arifa is going through is terrible. The government must step in to protect journalists, not allow hate-mongers to operate freely.”
Though online harassment is a criminal offence in India under the IT Act and sections of the Indian Penal Code, very few cases lead to arrests.
“People think they can do and say anything online without consequence. That must change,” said cyberlaw expert Apar Gupta.
Despite the threats, Arfa has not deleted her post or withdrawn her comments. In fact, she has become more vocal about the need to speak up.
“This is not just about me. It’s about the right to speak freely without fear. About a woman journalist not being bullied into silence,” she wrote in a follow-up post.
She also thanked those who stood by her: “To everyone who has called or messaged in support — I see you, and I thank you.”
As attacks against journalists grow in both intensity and organisation, especially those who belong to minority communities, the question many are asking is: how much longer will the authorities stay silent?
