Journalist Swati Chaturvedi wins Press Freedom Award for Courage

Journalist Swati Chaturvedi was awarded the Press Freedom Award for Courage on Thursday, an award for showing courage in work or in the defence and promotion of journalism. The award is instituted by Reporters Without Borders and is part of the first-ever London Press Freedom Awards. Chaturvedi won for her book I am a Troll: Inside the Secret World of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Digital Army. 

Other award winners include Matthew Caruana Galizia from Malta who won the award for Impact and Inday Espina-Varona from the Philippines for Independence. The Observer’s Carole Cadwalladr won the “L’esprit de RSF” prize which was for journalists from the UK.

Newslaundry spoke to Chaturvedi at length last year about her book. The discussion covered who trolls really are, what motivates them and why they hate journalists. Chaturvedi also elaborated on her encounters with over 30 trolls who said they worked for the Bharatiya Janata Party’s social media cell.

Watch the interview here.