Abusing women in politics
Source: Center for Countering Digital Hate
How Instagram is failing women and public officials
New research by CCDH shows that Instagram failed to act on 93% of the abusive comments targeting high-profile US women politicians we reported, including death and rape threats.
Meta’s Instagram is becoming a weapon in this assault, failing to step up to make its platform safer as the US election approaches.
CCDH reported 1,000 abusive comments targeting women politicians running for office in 2024 including:
Democrat: VP Kamala Harris, Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Jasmine Crockett, Nancy Pelosi and Senator Elizabeth Warren.
Republican: Representatives Marjorie Taylor Greene, Maria Elvira Salazar, Anna Paulina Luna, Lauren Boebert and Senator Marsha Blackburn.
A week later, Instagram had taken no action against 926 of these hateful comments, which contained sexist and racist abuse, and death and rape threats.
An intro from CCDH CEO Imran Ahmed
Online spaces are now the primary places where societal norms and values are negotiated and normalized, and where we learn about and discuss current events, social issues, and politics. In 2024, with democracy hanging in the balance, social media platforms are under heightened scrutiny for their role in rising polarization, stoking division, and our increasingly toxic political environment. So how are they doing? In the case of Instagram, this report finds that they may as well not be trying at all. Abuse is endemic, and there is evidence they fail to act in over 9 in 10 instances even when alerted...
Read here the full report published by the Center for Countering Digital Hate on 14 August 2024.
Image by Center for Countering Digital Hate
How Instagram is failing women and public officials
New research by CCDH shows that Instagram failed to act on 93% of the abusive comments targeting high-profile US women politicians we reported, including death and rape threats.
Meta’s Instagram is becoming a weapon in this assault, failing to step up to make its platform safer as the US election approaches.
CCDH reported 1,000 abusive comments targeting women politicians running for office in 2024 including:
Democrat: VP Kamala Harris, Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Jasmine Crockett, Nancy Pelosi and Senator Elizabeth Warren.
Republican: Representatives Marjorie Taylor Greene, Maria Elvira Salazar, Anna Paulina Luna, Lauren Boebert and Senator Marsha Blackburn.
A week later, Instagram had taken no action against 926 of these hateful comments, which contained sexist and racist abuse, and death and rape threats.
An intro from CCDH CEO Imran Ahmed
Online spaces are now the primary places where societal norms and values are negotiated and normalized, and where we learn about and discuss current events, social issues, and politics. In 2024, with democracy hanging in the balance, social media platforms are under heightened scrutiny for their role in rising polarization, stoking division, and our increasingly toxic political environment. So how are they doing? In the case of Instagram, this report finds that they may as well not be trying at all. Abuse is endemic, and there is evidence they fail to act in over 9 in 10 instances even when alerted...
Read here the full report published by the Center for Countering Digital Hate on 14 August 2024.
Image by Center for Countering Digital Hate