Experts Warn Against Online Attacks On Women In Politics

Digital rights experts have warned that online harassment and other forms of technology-facilitated violence could discourage women from participating in Nigeria’s 2027 elections.

They, therefore, called for stronger accountability by social media platforms and improved protection for women, journalists and other vulnerable groups against digital threats.

The experts spoke at a media roundtable hosted by DigiAfricaLab on the theme, “Digital Threats, Platform Responsibility and Nigeria’s 2027 Elections,” with presentations from TechHer and DigiCivic.

The roundtable examined how digital platforms and their technologies could affect the 2027 elections and the role of the media in reporting and addressing digital threats.

The women’s digital rights and safety officer at TechHer, Gbemisola Adebowale, said online violence was increasingly being used to silence women who were visible in public life, including politicians and journalists.

“There is a deliberate pattern of trying to ensure that they do not speak as much as they speak, and also moving them away from the space,” she said.

Adebowale said such attacks included cyber harassment, threats to publish intimate images and the exposure of personal information, which could put victims at risk both online and offline.

She expressed concern over the potential use of artificial intelligence to target women seeking elective offices in 2027.

“Now we have artificial intelligence. So, how are these tools that we have, how will they be weaponised against women who are bold enough to run for office?” she asked.

Adebowale said journalists also had a responsibility to report online abuse without amplifying harmful content.

She explained that TechHer operated a chatbot, Quramo, through which victims of technology-facilitated gender-based violence could report cases and seek assistance.

According to her, the organisation works with social media platforms, including TikTok and Meta, to facilitate the removal of harmful content and connects survivors requiring legal assistance with volunteer lawyers across Nigeria’s 36 states.

The Executive director of Digital Africa Research and Safety Lab, Rosemary Ajayi, said her organisation focused on identifying, preventing and mitigating digital threats to elections and civic participation.

She said the organisation investigated activities on social media platforms, identified patterns of abuse and shared its findings with technology companies to encourage action.

“Our ideal scenario would be to partner with INEC, for instance, to share some of this intel towards preventing harm during the next elections,” Ajayi said.

She said the organisation also educated the public on how to recognise and respond responsibly to digital threats.

Ajayi warned that sharing harmful content to condemn it could inadvertently increase its reach.

“By retweeting or sharing, you are amplifying that harm,” she said, urging social media users to find other ways to highlight harmful content.

She also called on technology companies to invest more in African markets and respond more effectively to complaints about harmful content.

“How can we put pressure on them to respond to reports? That’s one of the issues that people have complained about in our work over a number of years,” she said.

Ajayi said her organisation had previously engaged social media platforms over an attack against a journalist in 2022, seeking the removal of harmful content.