Our original, ground-breaking research is the bedrock of our activity. It examines the patterns, motives, and modus operandi of major gendered information attacks  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.

Read our latest analysis of digital threats facing women in public life in Moldova.

Download the report in English or Romanian

Read our analysis of digital threats facing women in public life in Brazil.

Download the report in English or Portuguese

We use our research to influence high level conversations on democracy, technology and women’s rights by working with some of the world’s leading media outlets and think tanks, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Brookings Institution, among others. 

We also ensure that our research reaches key decision-makers by participating in events, webinars, and roundtables with some of the most powerful stakeholders and institutions in this field, such as UN Women, the Inter-parliamentary Union, the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OCSE, Democracy Defenders Awards), the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES), Parlamericas, Apolitical, the High Commission of Canada in Singapore, the Montreal Institute for Genocide and Human Rights, the German Marshall Fund, Demos, and the UN Generation Equality Forum, among others.

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