Announcing the Online Equality Watch, a Consortium to Counter Gender- and Identity-Based Disinformation and Abuse
The American Sunlight Project is leading a new coalition on gender and identity-based disinformation and abuse online
(Washington, DC) – Today, the American Sunlight Project, Equality Now, Moonshot, Center for Countering Digital Hate, Brightlines, Missing Perspectives, Check My Ads, Vital Voices, and Pirth.org announced the launch of a new coalition — the Online Equality Watch — that will document and mitigate technology-facilitated gender-based violence against women in politics. The coalition will investigate gender-based disinformation aimed at women across the political spectrum, educate the public about its harm, and encourage lawmakers to actively reject it once and for all.
"Gendered disinformation and abuse — which happens across the political spectrum — undermines women’s participation in public life. It dissuades generations of young women, who may not want to face such hate, from seeking public office,” said Nina Jankowicz, Co-Founder and CEO of The American Sunlight Project, a bipartisan advocacy organization to oppose efforts to weaponize disinformation in the United States.
Online Equality Watch will bring together researchers and activists to identify and push back against gender- and identity-based violence targeting women candidates and election officials.
The first step in the coalition's program is to track and catalog instances of gender- and identity-based violence online to recognize key trends. This will include ongoing research from Online Equality Watch’s members and an incident report form that the coalition will distribute to Congressional offices so staffers and members of Congress can report instances of gender and identity-based violence or disinformation they encounter online.
"By identifying the gendered and sexualized attacks against women, our coalition is working towards equal representation for all. It’s time to send a powerful message that there is no place for misogyny in American politics,” said Jankowicz.
The Online Equality Watch is comprised of:
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Contact: Eddie Vale, eddie@npagency.com
