Fatima Siddiq was able to receive about 150 hate messages during her six years working in journalism. The vile messages reach her email inbox or come as replies to her posts on social media sites.

In the emails she showed to CTV News, she was threatened with rape and told she had to kneel and "shoot Afghan style."

Fatima, a correspondent, also said that hate mail often follows reports she provides about ethnic and immigrant communities.

What Siddiq has witnessed is part of a troubling trend in attacks against media workers which has reached, according to the president of the Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ), a "fever pitch."

The CAJ says there has been an increase in online abuse and hatred aimed at reporters during the Freedom Convoy in Ottawa. Now that the protests have faded, the committee says the attacks seem to have shifted into what appears to be a coordinated online campaign targeting female journalists, especially those of color.

Siddiq, who is also a CAJ board member, also stated that perpetrators use encrypted email, adding that the messages have become increasingly threatening.

In a statement issued earlier this month, Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino described online hate, intimidation, and harassment of female, racialized, and Indigenous journalists as "outrageously unacceptable." He said, "This disturbing trend not only poses a threat to the safety of the individuals involved but also poses a threat to the independence of media, which is a pillar of democracy."

Mendicino said he met with representatives of the CAJ to discuss the support that the federal government can provide, adding: "It is increasingly clear that online abuse against journalists, especially women, is a troubling issue for the media and the rest of our community. The personal losses caused by such threats and hate are profound and can cause lasting harm to one of our fundamental democratic institutions."