Justice Surya Kant. File | Photo credit: ANI
Chief Justice of India nominee Justice Surya Kant said on Saturday (Nov 8, 2025) that constant and malicious trolling of women journalists by exploiting their private data and inventing incriminating content against them cannot be normalized as an “inevitable consequence” of online discourse.
Speaking at an Indian Women’s Press Corps event, Justice Kant spoke about the intense side of artificial intelligence (AI) that could be used to cause physical and psychological harm through image manipulation.
“Rather than addressing their actual work or the views expressed by female journalists, these perpetrators use these methods of ‘online violence’ to belittle, fear and professionally discredit them. This type of digital abuse not only undermines the trust and safety of female journalists, but also threatens freedom of the press by stifling the diversity and nuance of public discourse,” Justice Kant said.
Justice Kant said tools like artificial intelligence were weaponized to spread false and harmful stories that were later sensationalized.
“Manipulated content often persists online indefinitely after the story has receded from the news cycle, making the damage permanent and devastating to those involved. As a responsible democracy, we cannot afford to normalize or tolerate such events as an ‘inevitable consequence’ of online discourse,” the Supreme Court judge said.
Published – 8 Nov 2025 21:34 IST
