Examining Violence against Women Politicians on TikTok through Disinformation

• In Event: Group Representation and Experiences on Social Media

Abstract

When it comes to being a political figure, the cost of engaging in politics has always been greater for women than men. Now, as concerns pertaining to violence against women in politics emerge globally, the price has never seemed higher. However, since the political realm has shifted into the digital world, female politicians and activists are faced with a new form of violence: virtual violence. Though scholars have begun to explore this topic, the spread of gendered disinformation that typically accompanies violence against women online has remained unaddressed. The goal of this study is to better understand what virtual violence and gendered disinformation look like online and how much of it is being circulated. To do this, preliminary data was collected from the social media platform TikTok – a platform that has recently become known for both spreading misinformation and as a tool for political communication. Content was scraped from the app, including creator posts, hashtags, searches, and user comments, in order to perform a cross-sectional content analysis, focusing on material pertaining to women political figures and flagging any inaccurate or misleading information. By highlighting topics such as gendered stereotypes, hyper-sexualization, and attempts to undermine women’s credibility, an analysis of these themes across intersectional groups aids in determining what kind of virtual violence and gendered disinformation women politicians are subject to online. This study will set the stage for further analysis comparing how virtual violence differs for women politicians in comparison to men and what we can do to combat it.

Author

• Brooke Steinhauer, McGill University