Reporter targeted by 'Trump trolls' says they want to 'silence criticism'

[Free Vulcan]

 Nearly a week after GQ magazine published her profile of Melania Trump, Julia Ioffe continues to receive vile tweets and comments, many of which targeted her for being Jewish.

On Sunday's "Reliable Sources," she described it as "the most obscene anti-Semitic stuff I have frankly ever seen directed at me in my life."

But Ioffe said she is not intimidated by the deluge.

"That's what they want to do," she said. "They want to silence criticism. They want to scare reporters from digging further. Our job is to dig."

Ioffe is the latest in a long list of writers, commentators and other public figures who have experienced attacks from so-called Trump trolls.

These online commenters are not affiliated with Donald Trump's presidential campaign, but some of them self-identify as Trump supporters.

Related: Trolls target journalist after Melania Trump profile

The usually anonymous or psuedo-anonymous Twitter and Facebook users swarm their victims with derogatory messages and memes. In Ioffe's case, some of the images reference anti-Semitic stereotypes about Jews.

When she retweeted one of the attacks, a cartoon of a man on his knees being shot execution-style with the subject line "They know about you!," the Commentary editor John Podhoretz responded, "I got that one too."

Podhoretz and a number of other prominent conservative critics of Trump have been on the receiving end of such hate since the early days of Trump's campaign.

New York Post op-ed editor Seth Mandel tweeted on Monday that the widespread coverage of harassment against Ioffe "is a bit late: we on the right have been getting it for months."

"Obviously what happened to Ioffe is awful, that's the point. It's a fraction of what Jewish conservatives have been dealing with," he added.

One of the unique aspects of Ioffe's story is that Melania Trump personally criticized Ioffe. Trump wrote on Facebook that the GQ profile — which delved into her family history in detail, including a "secret half-brother" — was "yet another example of the dishonest media and their disingenuous reporting."

She said the story had "numerous inaccuracies," but Ioffe said Trump "has not submitted any requests for corrections or anything."

Related: Trolls target journalist after Melania Trump GQ article

Does Ioffe believe that the Facebook post triggered the torrent of hate?

"You know, I'm hesitant to say that she sent these people to my virtual doorstep," Ioffe said, adding that she didn't think that was Trump's intent.

But she observed that "I'm not the first person that this has happened to, or the last one that this will happen to. And I think it's important that people see what happens, you know — that this isn't just Trump telling his supporters to boo at the press section at his rallies... This general disdain for the media is starting to cross certain thresholds."

More at:

http://money.cnn.com/2016/05/02/media/julia-ioffe-interview-trump-trolls/index.html

[Ghost Bear]

Have you noticed how many of Trump's supporters act, and react to criticism, just as the Leftists and Socialists who usually support Democrats do?  Isn't that odd?   

[Sanguine]

'Trump trolls' says they want to 'silence criticism'

No way! 

[sinkspur]

Trump inherited lots of anti-semites from Buchanan.  That isolationist, nativist crowd attracts Jew haters, white racists and all the loony conspiracy theorists.  Look for them to really come out of the woodwork in the general. 

[don-o]

Trump inherited lots of anti-semites from Buchanan.  That isolationist, nativist crowd attracts Jew haters, white racists and all the loony conspiracy theorists.  Look for them to really come out of the woodwork in the general.

And then watch how interested the msm gets in really examining Trump's mile high piles of bovine excrement that he has produced since June.

Primary goal of the media is to get eyeballs on screens and Wrestlemania 2 is going to be a 180 from what they have done to this point. This could actually happen any day, especially if Trump secures 1237 before the convention.

Book it!

[sinkspur]

One of the milder images tweeted to Ioffe:

[sinkspur]

Another:

[kevindavis007]

And then watch how interested the msm gets in really examining Trump's mile high piles of bovine excrement that he has produced since June.

Primary goal of the media is to get eyeballs on screens and Wrestlemania 2 is going to be a 180 from what they have done to this point. This could actually happen any day, especially if Trump secures 1237 before the convention.

Book it!

Easy bet. They are waiting.

[NavyCanDo]

That is horrific. Almost wish you didn't have to post that sink.   Will any Trump supporters denounce this barbaric harassment?

America has reached its tipping point, with the ungodly it seems at the reigns of both political parties.  I’m having my argument with God this morning, as I think many of you are. Why?  How did we get to this point? If we can see things from the Big Picture,  we would understand the “why”.  But right now I struggle to understand how this could happen, and how we could ever fix what has been dismembered.  But He is still in control and we know how this story ends – WE Win in the end.

God Save America!

[Mechanicos]

That is horrific. Almost wish you didn't have to post that sink.   Will any Trump supporters denounce this barbaric harassment?

America has reached its tipping point, with the ungodly it seems at the reigns of both political parties.  I’m having my argument with God this morning, as I think many of you are. Why?  How did we get to this point? If we can see things from the Big Picture,  we would understand the “why”.  But right now I struggle to understand how this could happen, and how we could ever fix what has been dismembered.  But He is still in control and we know how this story ends – WE Win in the end.

God Save America!

Not going to denounce anything since its not proven it came from a Trump person. Fact is Trump's daughter and son-in-law and grandchild are Jewish. So its insane to suspect this is not either a hoax or a stunt by opposition.

[sinkspur]

Not going to denounce anything since its not proven it came from a Trump person. Fact is Trump's daughter and son-in-law and grandchild are Jewish. So its insane to suspect this is not either a hoax or a stunt by opposition.

Interesting that these suddenly came at Julia Ioffe over twitter after she published her article about Melania.  Call me crazy, but just because Trump's daughter converted to the Jewish faith, that does not preclude Jew Haters coming out of the woodwork to direct their venom.....at a Jew.

[Cyber Liberty]

That is horrific. Almost wish you didn't have to post that sink.   Will any Trump supporters denounce this barbaric harassment?

America has reached its tipping point, with the ungodly it seems at the reigns of both political parties.  I’m having my argument with God this morning, as I think many of you are. Why?  How did we get to this point? If we can see things from the Big Picture,  we would understand the “why”.  But right now I struggle to understand how this could happen, and how we could ever fix what has been dismembered.  But He is still in control and we know how this story ends – WE Win in the end.

God Save America!

I think when the history is written, it will be noted we passed the tipping point in either the 2008 or 2012 election.  That's when the takers officially outnumbered, and outvoted the makers.  When people find out they can simply vote themselves largess out of the Treasury, the Republic is doomed because the voters will return those who loot and plunder for them to office every time.  A permanent "government class" has been created.

Democrats learned this decades ago, and what we're seeing now is a realization that both parties are in on the bunko.

[guitar4jesus]

I think when the history is written, it will be noted we passed the tipping point in either the 2008 or 2012 election.  That's when the takers officially outnumbered, and outvoted the makers.  When people find out they can simply vote themselves largess out of the Treasury, the Republic is doomed because the voters will return those who loot and plunder for them to office every time.  A permanent "government class" has been created.

Democrats learned this decades ago, and what we're seeing now is a realization that both parties are in on the bunko.

Yup!

[Sanguine]

I think when the history is written, it will be noted we passed the tipping point in either the 2008 or 2012 election.  That's when the takers officially outnumbered, and outvoted the makers.  When people find out they can simply vote themselves largess out of the Treasury, the Republic is doomed because the voters will return those who loot and plunder for them to office every time.  A permanent "government class" has been created.

Democrats learned this decades ago, and what we're seeing now is a realization that both parties are in on the bunko.

I agree.  I think it was 2008.  We had a chance to stall the decline in 2012, but didn't.   

And, the funny part is that we have a constitutional conservative running now, and OUR SIDE is doing everything they can to destroy him.  (Note I didn't say "destroy his candidacy" because that's putting too charitable spin on what's happening.)