Approximately 7% of women in media have encountered online violence – Survey results

Women in the media are increasingly becoming victims of online violence perpetrated by artificial intelligence. This is evidenced by the results of the study When AI Turns Hostile: Gendered Threats Against Ukrainian Women Journalists, conducted by Women in Media NGO as part of a project in partnership with UNESCO and supported by Japan. The respondents were female media professionals aged 18 to 45.

Lisa Kuzmenko, head of Women in Media NGO and a member of the Commission on Journalism Ethics, presented the survey results during a briefing at the Media Center Ukraine.

“In Ukraine, over 70% of media representatives are women. They work ‘in the field’ and are most exposed to threats related to online violence and artificial intelligence. During the study, we surveyed 119 women journalists. One in 15 respondents, or about 7%, had encountered online violence created using artificial intelligence. Another 14% said they found it difficult to answer,” Kuzmenko stated.

About 16% of the respondents had witnessed their colleagues facing this type of violence. Journalists who cover complex topics, such as corruption, encounter this kind of violence most frequently. Experts predict that this trend will increase in the coming years.

Read more: https://mediacenter.org.ua/news