Anna Maksymchuk - attack 05.04.2025

On April 5, 2025, an interview with Kyrylo Budanov, then Head of Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate, was published on the YouTube channel of host Anna Maksymchuk. Numerous comments posted under the interview contain signs of technology-facilitated gender-based online violence. In particular, the host is targeted with phrases such as: “court journalist,” “a very stupid host,” “an interview for a female audience, weak questions,” “childish questions,” “one slut interviewing another slut,” and similar remarks.

Such statements exhibit elements of gender disinformation, sexism, and online defamation. These comments are value judgments that are typically not supported by any facts or substantive arguments.

In addition, the comments include sexualized insinuations and sexualized harassment, as well as sexist remarks about the journalist’s appearance, for example:

“the journalist has melted and is dripping, but we have sexual freedom, and even journalists should offer their bodies to whoever they want, even while performing their professional duties. But the problem is that such leaders have a very large choice, they can’t f*** everyone…”

“for almost the entire time, the interviewer questions Budanov not with the cool head of a journalist, but with undisguised coquettishness/flirting in her eyes and on her face overall”

“Oh my God, what a sexy host!”

“This looks like a date in front of cameras. The questions are not thought through, a waste of time.”

Thus, the comments under the interview demonstrate online defamation and gender disinformation: the host is devalued through labels such as “court journalist,” “stupid host,” and “childish questions,” with subjective judgments presented as if they were facts, without argumentation or analysis of the interview’s content. This is aimed at undermining her professional reputation and competence.

Sexism and gender-marked discreditation (TFGBV) are also present. The criticism focuses not on the work itself but on gender stereotypes, demeaning the journalist specifically as a woman in a public profession. Comments containing sexualized insinuations, humiliation, and a focus on appearance and alleged “flirting” construct a dehumanizing narrative and create a hostile environment. Taken together, this constitutes an example of targeted gender-based online attacks rather than good-faith criticism of the content.