Viktorya Vilk
![Viktorya Vilk headshot](https://pen.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/viktorya-vilk-e1548459340943-293x300.jpg)
Viktorya Vilk (she/her/hers) is the director for digital safety and free expression at PEN America. She created and runs the organization’s programming on digital safety and online abuse defense, which aims to make online spaces safer, more equitable, and more free. In the human rights and press freedom sectors, she has put the issue of online hate and harassment on the map as a pressing threat to free expression, equity, and inclusion. Working with dozens of media organizations, publishers, nonprofits, and universities, Vilk has provided extensive training and resources to strengthen protections for staff and freelancers facing abuse and threats for their work. She has published five major reports on digital safety, online hate and harassment, and the local journalism crisis, as well as spearheading multiple advocacy initiatives to push the media, publishing, and tech industries to better protect and support people attacked for their identities and professions.
Vilk has published op-eds and articles for The Washington Post, Slate, Ms. Magazine, and Harvard Business Review and she regularly provides commentary for news media, including PBS Newshour, NPR, The New York Times, AP, The Los Angeles Times, and TIME, among others. She has led hundreds of workshops, panels, and seminars across the United States and internationally to empower writers and journalists to protect themselves, online and off. A sought after speaker at conferences on safety and press freedom, she has spoken at RightsCon, the International Journalism Festival, the Online News Association, Asian American Journalists Association, and MozFest, among others.
With over fifteen years of experience in the nonprofit sector, her deep commitment to defending freedom of expression has been a through line in her work in human rights and in the arts. Prior to joining PEN America, she worked on organizational strategy and development at the Art & Global Health Center Africa, a Malawian NGO that advocates for human rights through the arts. She has developed public programming, organized exhibitions, managed a collection re-installation project, and created innovative digital platforms showcasing art and architecture at The Jewish Museum, the Clark Art Institute, The Frick Collection, and the Courtauld Gallery.
Vilk received her graduate degrees in art history and curating, as a Marshall Scholar, at the University of London and her undergraduate degree in art history, French literature, and studio art from Boston University.
Media Appearances
- PBS Newshour, Growing local news deserts endanger democracy, study finds (December 15, 2019)
- NPR, Here & Now, How do you report online abuse? And what happens when you do? (July 28, 2023)
- NPR, The Takeaway, How Coronavirus Has Hit Local News (April 14, 2020)
- Are We Doing Tech Right? Shouting Into the Void with Viktorya Vilk and Kat Lo (October 25, 2023)
- Incubator for Media Education & Development (iMEdD), Online abuse and self-defense with Viktorya Vilk (April 28, 2023)
- World Association of News Publishers (WAN-IFRA), The war online: Abuse and harassment, and what journalists are doing about it (September 13, 2019)
Op-eds & Articles
- Viktorya Vilk and Jeje Mohamed, Rape Threats, Misogynist Slurs, Sexual Harassmen1 and Doxing: How Online Abuse Is Used to Intimidate, Discredit and Silence, Ms Magazine (January 18, 2024)
- Viktorya Vilk and Jeje Mohamed, Not Helpless, Not Silenced: What to Do if You Are Experiencing or Witnessing Online Abuse, Ms Magazine (January 19, 2024)
- Viktorya Vilk and Suzanne Nossel, We need smart solutions to mitigate the coronavirus’s impact: Include local media in the stimulus package, The Washington Post (June 18, 2020)
- Viktorya Vilk, What to Do When Your Employee is Harassed Online, Harvard Business Review (July 31, 2020)
- Viktorya Vilk, You’re Not Powerless in the Face of Online Harassment, Harvard Business Review (June 3, 2020)
- Viktorya Vilk, Why You Should Dox Yourself (Sort Of), Slate (February 28, 2020)
- Three ways social media companies can disarm abusive users, IFEX (May 31, 2021)
Research & Reports
- Viktorya Vilk, Sarah Tofte, and James Tager, Losing the News: The Decimation of Local News and the Search for Solutions, PEN America (2019)
- Viktorya Vilk, Elodie Vialle, and Matt Bailey, No Excuse for Abuse: What Social Media Companies Can Do Now to Combat Online Harassment and Empower Users, PEN America (2021)
- Viktorya Vilk, Susan E. McGregor, and Jeje Mohamed, The Power of Peer Support: Helping Journalists Persevere in the Face of Online Abuse, PEN America (2024)
- Viktorya Vilk and Kat Lo, Shouting into the Void: Why Reporting Abuse to Social Media Platforms Is So Hard and How to Fix It, PEN America (2023)
- Viktorya Vilk and Suzanne Nossel, “Protecting Free Expression, Access to Diverse Information, and Democratic Engagement Online: Conceptual and Practical Challenges,” in Eileen Donahoe and Fen Osler Hampson, Governance Innovation for a Connected World (2018)
Media Coverage
- Julie Bosman, How the Collapse of Local News Is Causing a ‘National Crisis, The New York Times (Nov. 20, 2019)
- Simmone Shah, Musk’s Plan to Remove Block Feature on X Raises Concerns About Harassment, TIME (August 22, 2023)
- Emerson Drewes, Elon Musk says X will get rid of blocking, Los Angeles Times (August 18, 2023).
- Tiffany Hsu and Stuart A. Thompson, Disinformation Researchers Fret About Fallout From Judge’s Order, The NewYork Times, (July 5, 2023)
- Defend yourself from online attacks, American Psychological Association (June 5, 2023)
- Lily Hay Newman, How Publications Can Support Writers and Sources Experiencing Digital Harassment, The Open Notebook (April 4, 2023)
- Tanya Basu, The book ban movement has a chilling new tactic: harassing teachers on social media, MIT Tech Review (July 15, 2022)
- Valeriya Safronova, The Fight to End ‘Cyberflashing,’ The New York Times (June 13, 2022)
- Danielle Abril and Hannah Good, How to protect yourself from online harassment, The Washington Post (April 25, 2022)
- Danielle Abril and Hannah Good, Here’s how women can protect themselves from online harassment, The Washington Post (March 26, 2022)
- David Bauder, Journalists demanding more action against online harassment, AP News (June 11, 2021)
- Paige Leskin, Half of all Americans report facing online harassment. These researchers have a solution, Insider (April 12, 2021)
- Hannah Miao, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram need to make these changes to fight online harassment, nonprofit says, CNBC (March 31, 2021)
- Alan Greenblatt, Domestic Terror Beat Brings Threats, Risks, US Journalists Say, VOA News (March 18, 2021)
- Xantal Tejada Herrera, How to Defend Yourself and Others Against Online Attacks, State of the Planet (February 16, 2021)
- Howard Hardee, One step ahead: preparing reporters before they’re targeted by disinformation and online harassment campaigns, University of Wisconsin Center for Ethics Journalism (January 13, 2021)
- Katherine Wu, How to Deal with Negative Reactions to Stories, Open Notebook (January 12, 2021)
- Shayna Cohen, Making The Internet A Diverse And More Equitable Place: How To Become An Effective Online Ally, Skidmore News (November 12, 2020)
- Jacob Granger, What should journalists and newsrooms do when facing online abuse? Journalism.co.uk (October 8, 2020)
- Margaret Tucker, Three Questions for a Smart Person, Slate Future Tense (June 6, 2020)
- Erik Wemple, Stimulus Funding Can’t come fast enough for public broadcasters, The Washington Post (March 27, 2020)
- Kristi Palma, How to protect your information online, Boston.com (February 25, 2020)
- Lauren Eakin, Resurrecting Local News: Questions With Viktorya Vilk And Nora Benavidez, University of North Carolina Hussman School of Journalism and Media (January 8, 2020)
- Jonathan O’Connell, Ghost Papers and news deserts: Will America ever get its local news back? The Washington Post (Dec 26, 2019)
- Hannah Gaskill, Newsrooms reviewed security after Capital Gazette shooting Capital News Service (December 5, 2019)