From Ukraine to Pakistan, ‘gendered disinformation’ targets prominent women
- Researchers say a barrage of disinformation has relentlessly targeted women worldwide, from former US first lady Michelle Obama to New Zealand’s Jacinda Ardern
- Humiliating falsehoods can have a silencing effect on women, who are drawn to disengage, censor themselves and even avoid male-dominated professions, including politics, the experts say
Fake photos showing Ukraine’s first lady sunbathing topless, incorrect video subtitles defaming Pakistani feminists for “blasphemy”, slow-motion clips falsely depicting “drunk” female politicians – a barrage of disinformation targets women in the public eye.
Researchers say “gendered disinformation” – when sexism and misogyny intersect with online falsehoods – has relentlessly targeted women around the world, tarnishing their reputations, undermining their credibility and, in many cases, upending their careers.
AFP’s global fact-checkers have debunked falsehoods targeting politically active women, or those linked to prominent politicians, exposing online campaigns that feature fake information or manipulated images that are often sexually charged.
Last year, a fake image of Ukraine’s First Lady Olena Zelenska lying topless on a beach in Israel was shared widely on Facebook, triggering criticism that she was having fun while her war-torn country was suffering. A reverse image search showed the woman in the photo was, in fact, a Russian television presenter.
Former US first lady Michelle Obama and current French first lady Brigitte Macron have also been targeted in false online posts that claimed they were born as men. The disinformation sparked an avalanche of mockery and transphobic remarks.
New Zealand’s Jacinda Ardern, who announced her resignation as prime minister in January, is another prominent figure that faced a torrent of disinformation about her sex.
“Women – especially those in positions of power and visibility – are unduly targeted by online disinformation,” Maria Giovanna Sessa, a senior researcher at the non-profit EU DisinfoLab, wrote in a report last year.
