This long-standing reality that Daphne Caruana Galizia had had to face for decades had been aggravated in recent years by massive and coordinated online trolling, unbridled and unrestrained hatred that completed her dehumanisation in the eyes of many people. This to the extent that even when she was killed by a car bomb, her more extreme detractors publicly rejoiced in her death or accused her own children of killing her, fully expecting, and in many cases obtaining, the approval of their online peers.
Prior to Daphne’s assassination, her characterisation as a ‘witch’ or any one of any number of dehumanising attributes attempted to strip her of basic human dignity, including her right to privacy, family life, and property.
On 30 May 2017, four days before the election, Member of Parliament Silvio Schembri posted on Facebook that the upcoming election was the instrument whereby the Maltese people were going “to get rid of people like (Matthew Caruana Galizia) and his mother Daphne.”12
Two days after the election, on 5 June, a meme shared on Facebook depicted Daphne Caruana Galizia with satanic horns on a mock memorial card for her imaginary funeral with the text: “With great happiness we welcome the death of Daphnie (sic) Caruana Galizia, known as the witch of Bidnija…who leaves to mourn her loss no one. Oh Lord, give her that which she gave to others.”13
Daphne had been so dehumanised that within few hours after her murder, police sergeant Ramon Mifsud stated publicly on Facebook: “Had wara had tasal ta kullhadd demel!!!!!!! Feeling happy.” (Sic). (What goes around comes around, cow dung! Feeling happy.) He added a smiling face emoji for good measure. Although suspended, in line with the impunity that is pervasive in all institutions, Sergeant Mifsud was still receiving half his salary three years later.14 We do not know if that has changed.
The ultimate dehumanisation came with her assassination.
It is worth pointing out that the unleashed dynamics continued after her assassination. Seven months later, The Shift published the findings of its investigation into six of the biggest pro-Joseph Muscat Facebook groups – numbering 60,000 members – finding coordinated attacks on anti-corruption activists and Daphne Caruana Galizia’s memory and her family.15
Besides the prime minister himself, at least eight senior staff working for him were members of these Facebook groups replete with violent comments, including the distribution of anti-corruption activists’ personal details and calls for them to be physically attacked, sexually assaulted, and stalked.
The senior staff includes Keith Schembri (then Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff), Konrad Mizzi (then Minister for Tourism), Chris Cardona (then Minister for the Economy), Glenn Bedingfield (MP and then a consultant to the Prime Minister), Neville Gafà (then a consultant to the Prime Minister), Tony Zarb (consultant to the Prime Minister), Rosianne Cutajar (MP and then communications coordinator in the Prime Minister’s Office), and Robert Musumeci (then a consultant to the Prime Minister’s Office).