• About
  • Advertise
  • Contact
  • Login
Newsletter
NRI Affairs
Youtube Channel
  • News
  • Video
  • Opinion
  • Culture
  • Visa
  • Student Hub
  • Business
  • Travel
  • Events
  • Other
No Result
View All Result
  • News
  • Video
  • Opinion
  • Culture
  • Visa
  • Student Hub
  • Business
  • Travel
  • Events
  • Other
No Result
View All Result
NRI Affairs
No Result
View All Result
Home News

New research shows how politically motivated digital mobs in India prevent gender equality

Online abuse and gendered disinformation against women in politics in India backslide women’s rights and gender equality.

NRI Affairs Features Desk by NRI Affairs Features Desk
April 6, 2023
in News
Reading Time: 3 mins read
A A
0
New research shows how politically motivated digital mobs in India prevent gender equality

Image: Pexels

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
Advertisements

On April 4, non-profit organisations #ShePersisted and The London Story presented new research, “The Digital Mob and its Enablers: Gendered Disinformation and Online Abuse Against Women in Politics in India”. At an online event launching the report, a panel explored how gendered disinformation – the spread of deceptive or inaccurate information and images against women leaders – is weaponized to undermine women’s political participation and gender equality. Notably, the report finds that current political leaders in India are involved in creating a culture of impunity for gendered disinformation.

As emerges from data from the Election Commission of India, only 723 out of 8000 candidates in the 2019 Indian general elections were female. An already low number, it is in fact the highest ever: the 2019 elections had the most women candidates in any election since India’s independence. However, as women’s political participation increases, so do attacks seeking to undermine their participation in the public sphere.

The report finds that the most vicious gendered disinformation campaigns target women from minority communities, women who advocate for minority rights and women who question the government or highly visible male leaders. The main actors spreading gendered disinformation, in turn, are “strongmen” political leaders and illiberal political actors, but also average people pulled into the net.

Angellica Aribam, a political activist and founder of FemmeFirst, joined the report launch to narrate her first-hand experiences with gendered disinformation attacks, which are also included in the report. “I have faced massive trolling, and when I go to the handles responsible and check who they are, it was once written that this person is ‘followed by Prime Minister Modi’. When you see things like that, you see that person feels impunity,” she noted. Angellica Aribam suggested that the solution must lie in a concerted effort by police, online platforms and political parties: “The onus lies on political parties to make sure that this does not happen. Sure, you can disagree, but you cannot threaten anyone with rape or share explicit images, like they did in my case. The onus lies on the parties to denounce such behaviour, and to revoke the positions of those members.”

Parliamentary briefing on India – Livestream https://t.co/W2qwNlWelO

— Foundation London Story (@FoundationTLS) April 4, 2023
Livestream ‘Parliamentary briefing on India’

Yet, the report launch event also noted the responsibility of social media platforms, and the urgent need for strong international regulation of platforms. 

Advertisements

“This isn’t only a matter of bad things happening in society and being reflected on social media, this is about the design of social media platforms. They foster, incite and reward violence, abuse and disinformation, because social media platforms monetize the engagement derived by those horrible forms of abuse,” Lucina di Meco, lead author of the report and co-founder of #ShePersisted emphasised.

“In the last few years, we have encountered significant and systematic evidence that suggests that social media has provided a breeding ground for online abuse in the form of trolling, doxing and psychological manipulation,” said Dr Ritumbra Manuvie, lecturer in international law at the University of Groningen and Executive Director of Indian diaspora-led think tank The London Story, who moderated the report launch. 

India is currently presiding over the G-20, a process that also involves engagement on gender equity. Through the Women-20 engagement group, India as the world’s largest democracy aims to lead the world’s largest economies towards a world of equality and equity, and towards the fulfilment of the Sustainable Development Goals. Among the goals is gender equality, which is a precondition for realising all goals in the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda.

In this context, the authors appealed to decision-makers and thought leaders in India to take the findings of the report seriously. As the world’s largest democracy is also becoming one of the largest markets for social media companies, what is happening in India has implications for the future of digital technology, democracy and women’s rights globally.

The report is part of the new series “Monetizing Misogyny” by #ShePersisted. To read the report: 

Research and Thought Leadership
Logo2
NRI Affairs Features Desk

NRI Affairs Features Desk

NRI Affairs Features Desk

Related Posts

Australian Cricketers Face Tough Choices as IPL 2025 Resumes Amid WTC Final Preparations
News

Australian Cricketers Face Tough Choices as IPL 2025 Resumes Amid WTC Final Preparations

May 14, 2025
Indian-Australian Community Stands in Solidarity: Sydney Vigil Honors Victims of Pahalgam Terror Attack
News

Indian-Australian Community Stands in Solidarity: Sydney Vigil Honors Victims of Pahalgam Terror Attack

April 30, 2025
Melbourne Honours Legacy of Indian Social Reformers with Cultural Celebration
News

Melbourne Honours Legacy of Indian Social Reformers with Cultural Celebration

April 27, 2025
Next Post
Indian Americans hold a rally against "discriminatory" caste legislation

Indian Americans hold a rally against "discriminatory" caste legislation

Indian-Origin, Sanjay Madan Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Stealing $47.4 Million from Ontario Government

Indian-Origin, Sanjay Madan Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Stealing $47.4 Million from Ontario Government

OPINION: Significance of caste discrimination ban in Seattle

OPINION: Significance of caste discrimination ban in Seattle

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recommended

Payne, Dutton to visit India to advance Australia-India relationship

Payne, Dutton to visit India to advance Australia-India relationship

4 years ago
Top honours for remarkable films at 19th Tasveer Film Festival

Top honours for remarkable films at 19th Tasveer Film Festival

7 months ago
plane spotting 2311053 1920

Bat found on board, Air India flight returns mid-way

4 years ago
permanent migration

Australia increases the permanent migrant ceiling to 195,000 to address labour shortages

3 years ago

Categories

  • Business
  • Events
  • Literature
  • Multimedia
  • News
  • nriaffairs
  • Opinion
  • Other
  • People
  • Student Hub
  • Top Stories
  • Travel
  • Uncategorized
  • Visa

Topics

Air India Australia california Canada caste china COVID-19 cricket Europe Gaza Germany Green Card h1b visa Hindu immigration India india-australia Indian Indian-American Indian-origin indian diaspora indian origin indian student Indian Students Khalistan London Modi Narendra Modi New Zealand NRI NSW Pakistan Palestine Singapore student students travel trump UAE uk US USA us visa Victoria visa
NRI Affairs

© 2025 NRI Affairs.

Navigate Site

  • About
  • Advertise
  • Contact

Follow Us

No Result
View All Result
  • News
  • Video
  • Opinion
  • Culture
  • Visa
  • Student Hub
  • Business
  • Travel
  • Events
  • Other

© 2025 NRI Affairs.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
WP Twitter Auto Publish Powered By : XYZScripts.com