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The investigation by journalist Çiçek Tahaoğlu, together with cinematographer Yiğit Akbıyık, explores cyberbullying against Turkish women and LGBTQIA+ journalists on online platforms and is the first journalistic reportage dedicated to this subject in the country. It includes interviews with journalists Sibel Yükler, Rengin Arslan, Burcu Karakaş, Yıldız Tar, Abeer Sady and psychologist Aslı Avşar.
During the launch of the film in Istanbul on March 29, Sibel Yükler noted that: “Online violence against women and LGBTQI+ journalists is rarely talked about. At times, my heart races as I send news to my editor that are related to this issue or could cause controversies. My expression ‘I hope it doesn’t go viral,’ which gave the documentary its title, is actually a symptom of these heart palpitations”.
Journalist Burcu Karakaş who works for the German public broadcaster Deutsche Welle Turkish, said: “As the number of followers on social media increases, you can reach more people; but at the same time, the discrediting campaigns rise. For example, with the women’s rights and LGBTQI+ movement growing by the day, the attacks against these movements rise, too”.
“Journalists should not shy away from protecting themselves psychologically”, said psychologist Aslı Avşar. “When journalists undervalue cyberbullying, which is a form of violence, they are trying to suppress the violence, thinking it is temporary. But this does not make the violence pass. It can turn into a trauma that will come up again in the future and bear consequences on the long run”.
