Women in politics receive twice as many sexist comments on social media as their male colleagues, writes Het Laatste Nieuws on Tuesday. This also applies to local councillors and politicians with an immigrant background.

Research by the Institute for Gender Equality, ULB and UGent, which analysed 44,000 reactions to politicians' posts on Facebook, Instagram and X, shows that every four out of 10 comments are negative.

Moldova is heading to the polls in October for presidential elections and an EU referendum, with pro-European incumbent President Maia Sandu seeking a second term but facing Kremlin-backed candidates and disinformation.

The country's election on 20 October 2024 will be only the third direct presidential election since Moldova’s independence from the Soviet Union and the abolition of the previous system of parliament electing the president.

Online threats of death, rape, and physical violence against women in politics and public life have become alarmingly common, and the rise of artificial intelligence may further intensify the scale and reach of such online abuse, UN Women says in an explainer for the the International Day of

A report found that Instagram left up 93 percent of violent comments toward female candidates—the kind of online abuse that has led them to not seek office.

Pinned on vice president and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris’ official Instagram page is a post featuring her alongside her running mate, Minnesota governor Tim Walz. In the comments, along with praise, criticism, and more than one “Trump 2024,” are several comments asking if Harris had offered Walz oral sex, with one calling her “Kamel toe.”