Young female journalists at a regional publisher have been sent extreme pornography, prompting a police investigation.

Reach plc online safety editor Rebecca Whittington has revealed at least two reporters working for the group have been subjected to “digital sexual abuse” in recent weeks.

In a blog, she revealed that some of the unsolicited content was so extreme that one of the journalists was told by police it would be a criminal offence to share it with security.

The incidents have prompted Rebecca, pictured, to criticise tech giant Meta after the images were sent using two of its products, Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp.

On her blog, Rebecca wrote: “There is already an apathy about the consequences of reporting to Meta which I encounter regularly. Journalists who have received threats or abuse online are often reluctant to report it.

“They feel nothing will happen. Nothing will be done. They will never hear about it again, so what’s the point?”

“I am fed up, angry and sick of feeling powerless. In my role at Reach, we can offer support. We can offer security. We can offer counselling. But we cannot single-handedly stop the scourge of unsolicited sexual content.

“Meta absolutely needs to do more to identify abusers and see them held accountable, not offer them further protections.”

Rebecca has declined to reveal any further information about the incidents, and has been unable to confirm which police forces are involved in the investigation for fear of identifying the victims.

HTFP has approached Meta for a response to Rebecca’s comments.

Earlier this year, a study conducted by Reach and campaign group Women in Journalism found one in four women journalists have experienced sexual harassment or sexual violence due to their work.

In some cases, the abuse had led to journalists developing depression and one person admitted it had caused them suicidal thoughts.

Rebecca told HTFP: “I feel very strongly that we need to keep the issue of unsolicited sexual content and commentary sent to women online firmly in the spotlight.

“This is not a problem which solely affects women working in journalism and media, but the prominence of women working in the industry can make them a target for this kind of abuse.

“The research I conducted on behalf of Reach and Women in Journalism earlier this year demonstrates the significance of the problem; a quarter of the 400 respondents from across industry in the UK had experienced some kind of sexual harassment or sexual violence during the course of their work.

“I fear that the fact that this is not an uncommon occurrence, paired with the lack of responsibility taken by social media platforms, risks normalisation of sexual harassment or sexual violence in online spaces.

“Such a situation not only does a huge disservice to women in our society, but also creates a lack of framework and accountability for abusers. Essentially we run the risk of normalising such egregious practice by failing to hold abusers to account.

“We have to see better safety measures put into place, but also we should expect a level of accountability for the individuals who send this kind of content.

“It would not be acceptable in a physical space, so why should the anonymity provided by social platforms and messaging services make it any more acceptable in online spaces?

“We need to see more happening, not less, to protect the safety of women and girls online.”