Disinformation Campaigns Against Women Are a National Security Threat, New Study Finds

Article here. Excerpt:

'Attacks portraying women in politics as promiscuous or having an unconventional sexual past are often common and effective tactics employed by political opponents. But Lucina Di Meco, co-founder of the online campaign, “#ShePersisted,” said that Baerbock’s example also revealed two other phenomena at play, which she has written about in a new study called “Monetizing Misogyny.” Not only does gendered disinformation lead to the backsliding of women’s rights and democracy as a whole, but the study found that gendered disinformation also becomes a national security threat when foreign actors use it to exploit divisions in society.

Although the term “gendered disinformation” doesn’t have a standard definition, Di Meco, a leading gender equality expert, has described it as the spread of deceptive or inaccurate information or images used against women in public life. A study conducted by Demos in 2020 noted that gendered disinformation isn’t just false information—it also uses “highly emotive and value-laden content to try to undermine its targets,” and ”seeks impact primarily at the political level, though can also cause serious harm at the personal level,” leading to hate campaigns that come with terrifying, and sometimes lethal, consequences for women in politics.'