Liza Kuzmenko, the head of the NGO “Women in Media,” a member of the Commission on Journalistic Ethics, presented the results of the study “An Underestimated Threat: Gendered Disinformation about Ukrainian Women Journalists” during the RE:Cover conference in Krakow.
Máire Rowland, the research coordinator for The Coalition For Women In Journalism, also joined the discussion. Through her speech, she drew attention to the obstacles that these female journalists encounter, particularly in Europe. She also confirmed that gender misinformation is a form of online violence that is on the rise. Among other things, she mentioned the problem of deepfakes targeted against women.
Oksana Maksymeniuk from the Regional Press Development Institute, focused on law methods of protection against online violence targeting female journalists.
This study has been conducted to research the phenomenon of gendered disinformation in Ukraine, focusing on specific threats faced by Ukrainian women media workers while performing journalistic work. The key finding: Russia uses a strategy of gendered disinformation in Ukraine to silence women journalists and create a certain negative image of gender equality and the role of women in democratic societies
It’s a part of the Voices of Ukraine (VoU) programme funded by the Federal Foreign Office Germany, organised by the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom ECPMF. VoU is part of the Hannah-Arendt-Initiative. The main goal of the project is to support and maintain the working capacity of journalists in Ukraine.