How disinformation is increasingly weaponised against women and minority groups

A report released today by CIR examines how government officials, state-affiliated media and individual accounts use disinformation online to target and undermine female politicians and activists, ethnic and religious minorities, and LGBTQ+ people.

State-linked social media accounts from China, Iran, and Russia are among those using “identity-based disinformation” as “a tactic in their authoritarian toolkit” and to “foment societal tensions” in the West, the report finds.

In some cases, international influencers – often communicating in English to audiences around the world – are used to boost visibility, target a wider audience and take fringe narratives into the mainstream.

CIR researchers define identity-based disinformation as the use of misleading or false allegations relating to gender, sexuality, race or ethnicity, religion and other identity-based characteristics – often used to undermine, silence, and repress marginalised communities.

Over a three-month period, CIR collected more than 160 examples across multiple countries and contexts. The report draws upon cases from Afghanistan, China, Iran, Russia, the US and UK, and categorises different types of identity-based disinformation, the tools, techniques and procedures used to spread it, and the actors at play.

Women silenced and undermined

According to the report, gendered disinformation aims to “target, shame, and silence publicly active women”.

In the US, Vice President Kamala Harris has faced a torrent of sexist and racial rumours since beginning her presidential campaign. Within hours of President Biden’s endorsement of Harris, data firm PeakMetrics found that more than 11% of related mentions of her on X involved criticisms regarding her race or gender.

CIR’s report also outlines several examples of Russian disinformation campaigns targeting female politicians. Some of these use edited images intended to discredit and shame the women.

Last year, Kremlin-affiliated media outlets and social media accounts disseminated a manipulated image of Annalena Baerbock, Germany’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, claiming that she was once a professional prostitute. In another example, a manipulated image of Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin consuming drugs was posted on Georgian and Russian social networks.

Female activists and journalists targeted

In Iran and Afghanistan, women’s rights activists, journalists and human rights advocates have been targeted by false and harmful narratives intended to damage their reputations, CIR finds.

On X, low-ranking Taliban and pro-Taliban accounts share gendered disinformation and hate speech against Afghan female journalists, women’s rights activists and former government employees, as revealed by CIR’s Afghan Witness project last year.

Afghan Witness has recorded cases of Afghan female activists falsely accused of being prostitutes and Western spies on social media. Some have been targeted by impersonator accounts, which then used their names and profile pictures to spread disinformation targeting other political groups and individuals.

Societal tensions exploited

CIR’s report finds that racial and ethnic disinformation is often used to exacerbate “wedge issues” and exploit pre-existing tensions, particularly around issues such as immigration.

In recent years, such narratives have been spread in the UK and Europe, sometimes by Russian-linked accounts, and have attempted to amplify conspiracy theories and stoke xenophobic and anti-immigrant sentiment.

In Iran, unattributed social media accounts posted manipulated images and videos to spread disinformation about Afghan refugees. As well as contributing to anti-Afghan sentiment, there have been reports that such posts have paved the way for offline attacks on Afghans in the country.

Denial and distraction

The report finds that actors use a range of strategies to disseminate identity-based disinformation online.

Denial and distraction – also known as “whataboutism” – is a tactic that’s been used by Russia to undermine Ukraine and bolster arguments for invading the country.

In China, government officials, state-affiliated media channels and international influencers have attempted to divert attention away from China’s treatment of the Uyghur population by pointing to human rights abuses carried out by the West.

In some cases, posts attempted to show how Muslims in China have greater freedoms than in other countries and used infographics and visuals to strengthen this narrative.

LGBTQ+ disinformation

CIR’s report also explores how sexualised or LGBTQ+ disinformation is used to “undermine, shame, attack, and single out” individuals.

Rights groups say that anti-trans and gay speech has risen in the US, spurred by anti-LGBTQ+ legislation proposed by right-wing politicians.

Stew Peters, an American far-right conspiracy theorist and radio show host, has shared several posts targeting LGBTQ+ people, including claims that they are paedophiles who are grooming younger generations and that LGBTQ+ activists “went into professional medicine and psychology to advance their political and social agendas”. In some cases, these posts attract tens of thousands of views.

Such narratives have also been pushed by both state and non-state Russian social media accounts and media outlets in the context of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, for instance, through claims that the Ukrainian army is mostly made up of homosexuals who are “fighting for homosexuality”.

“Real-life” violence

While disinformation predominantly takes place online, it risks “normalising violence offline” CIR’s report states, and could lead to hate crimes and physical threats.

A CIR study into online abuse against Ethiopian women, published in May, found that some interviewees had experienced physical assaults and arrests after suffering online abuse.

In 2020, Libyan activist and lawyer Hanan al-Barassi was shot dead, and the year before, Libyan MP Siham Sergiwa was kidnapped by armed gunmen and remains missing. According to EU DisinfoLab, both were targeted online by gendered disinformation.

In 2021, online abuse evolved into death threats for Scottish MP Carol Monaghan, prompting the politician to move herself to a safe house.

As well as threats to personal safety, online abuse impacts women’s social participation and mental well-being. Last year, Afghan women told CIR’s Afghan Witness researchers that they minimised their real-life interactions and avoided large gatherings out of fear for their physical safety.

CIR’s report on identity-based disinformation also includes recommendations for policymakers, which encourage further research and support for staff who are targeted by online abuse.