Our original, ground-breaking research is the bedrock of our activity. It examines the patterns, motives, and modus operandi of major gendered disinformation campaigns and their links to the undermining of democracy and women’s rights globally.

We use our research to increase understanding of the real-world, personal harm that disinformation causes to women politicians, as well as influence high-level conversations on democracy, technology, and women’s rights. 

Our research has been featured by some of the world’s leading media outlets, including The New York Times and The Washington Post, and presented at webinars and roundtables with influential stakeholders and institutions like the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OCSE), the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES), UN Women, and many more. Recordings of these events can be found here, and previous events we’ve taken part in here.

Below are some of our articles highlighting the intersections of gendered disinformation and the featured themes. 

This categorization touches on the larger themes of the highlighted resources. However, it should be noted there is a crossover of these topics in every area due to the interdisciplinary nature of this work.

Big Tech Accountability: 

• Holding big tech accountable for online violence against women and gendered disinformation – Ms. Magazine
• Politics and social media: Misogyny and online violence against women in politics – Emerge

Democracy:

• Why disinformation targeting women undermines democratic institutions – Power 3.0
• Gendered disinformation, democracy, and the need for a new digital social contract – Council on Foreign Relations
• Online threats to women’s political participation and the need for a multi-stakeholder, cohesive approach to address them – UN CSW
• How digital media is threatening women’s rights and democracy – Ms. Magazine

Political Campaigns:

• Campaigning while female: How online hate holds women back – Politico
• The gendered disinformation playbook in Germany is a warning for Europe – Brookings

Norms and Stereotypes:

• Social media, violence and gender norms: The need for a new digital social contract – ALIGN

Security:

• Gendered disinformation is a national security problem – Brookings

Threat Analysis: 

• Tackling online abuse and disinformation targeting women in politics – Carnegie
• Gendered disinformation, fake news, and women in politics – Council on Foreign Relations
• Security, misogyny, and disinformation undermining women’s leadership – Routledge
• ‘Gender trolling’ is curbing women’s rights – and making money for digital platforms – The Guardian
• Online gendered disinformation: The trojan horse that threatens democracy and women’s rights – OECD

Future Research:

• The risk of gender bias in conducting and reporting on influence operations – Carnegie Endowment for International Peace