Online Gendered Abuse and Disinformation During the 2024 South African Elections

Authors: Clara Martiny, Terra Rolfe, Bilen Zerie, Aoife Gallagher and Helena Schwertheim

Published: 6 August 2024

ISD sought to understand how Online Gender-Based Violence (OGBV) affects South African women, focusing on the experience of women politicians, candidates and political figures during one of South Africa’s most historic general elections in May 2024. ISD analysts used a combination of qualitative and quantitative analytical methods, interviews with experts and knowledge drawn from online and in-person workshops. Specifically, three online case studies looked at abusive content, gendered disinformation and harassment targeting women politicians on TikTok, X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook.

ISD’s analysis found that South African women in politics often face abuse online in the form of replies or comments to their posts or content about them. Misogynistic actors tend to target their physical attributes, intelligence and ability to lead. They also often engage with gendered disinformation narratives which sexualise or objectify women. While the legislative frameworks in South Africa are progressive and comprehensive, enforcement is difficult and many women are unaware of the resources available to them. Social media platforms also have policies that address OGBV and gendered disinformation but their enforcement is weak, especially outside of English language content.