TechHerNG drums up support to tackle gender misinformation online

The rise of stereotypical and deviant behaviour targeted toward women online has been roundly condemned for its consequences on societal advancement. This call, made by TechHerNG Digital Literacy Officer Soniya Dawarga, preceded a wide-ranging conversation on gender misinformation and false framing of women in society at Coffee & Circumvention (C & C), a community-hosted event put together by the organisation in Abuja.

Speaking at the event, she highlighted the need for urgent interventions to arrest the trend of abusive rhetoric and harmful stereotypes directed at women and other vulnerable groups in digital spaces.

Coffee & Circumvention is a quarterly community meet-up event organised by TechHerNG as part of the Internet Freedom Festival global family. It provides an avenue for inclusivity alongside open discussions on wide-ranging topics and issues that impact women in both digital and non-digital spaces.

Dawarga, speaking to participants at the event, highlighted TechHer’s intention to play a much-needed role in closing the nationwide digital gender divide. She also emphasised the task at hand due to the potential dangers an unsafe digital environment poses.

“TechHer has dedicated significant resources to demystifying technology for women and young girls. We have done this by empowering young women and girls with technology through digital literacy school tour projects and by providing safety toolkits designed to combat and promote awareness of Online Gender-Based Violence,” she said.

While introducing the focus of this quarter’s edition of the event, Dawarga emphasised the trivialisation of online violence and its direct consequence of creating silent victims. She decried the low awareness of the trend’s larger societal consequence while also explaining that the effects of such behaviour extended beyond the internet. Citing women in the public eye, including female journalists & politicians, she spoke about how unevenly abuse is meted out to them in contrast to their male counterparts.

“It is disheartening that despite our efforts to bridge the digital gender divide and encourage women’s participation in technology, they are hindered by the pervasive and unsafe digital spaces they encounter,” she said before adding, “The issue of online violence extends to gendered stereotypes that affect women within and outside digital spaces,” she said.

Coffee and Circumvention brought together a diverse group of individuals committed to addressing the challenges of gender-based misinformation in today’s digital landscape. Participants were encouraged to share experiences of being on the receiving end of gender misinformation, steps they had taken to address these attacks, as well as recommendations for collaborative ideas.

TechHer’s partners Code for Africa (C4A), led a session outlining their efforts to combat online abuse. Introducing FeedShield, an innovative anti-troll AI tool, C4A Project Manager Sara Gowon revealed how crucial a partnership with organisations like TechHer was to deploy such technology as a direct response to increased online violence. Gowon also explained that FeedShield, which adopts Google’s Prospective AI technology, could be used by anyone with a Twitter account.

“With FeedShield, users can reclaim control of their social media experience. This AI tool gives women, mostly the victims of online violence, the power to say ‘no’ to such forms of toxicity. It allows them to leverage simple technology by unfollowing, muting, and blocking trolls and abusive messaging. By enabling bulk actions, such as muting or blocking accounts, the tool effectively shields individuals from online harassment in order to foster a more positive online experience,” she said.

Gowon explained that FeedShield assigns a toxicity score after scanning a user’s Twitter profile for up to a week, empowering users to take swift action. She added that this greatly saved them from enduring the emotional toll of reading abusive messages individually. TechHer Women’s Rights & Safety Officer reiterated the need for behavioural changes alongside innovative technological solutions to gender misinformation, especially online. Commending C4A for their remarkable efforts to develop FeedShield. She also reminded participants of Kuram, TecHer’s online gender-based violence (OGBV) response platform and just one of the organisation’s initiatives in a multi-pronged approach to battle online violence.

In her final remarks, Amina Salaudeen, the Women’s Rights & Safety Officer at TechHer, commended FeedShield for their remarkable anti-troll AI. She emphasised the importance of their groundbreaking technology in combating online harassment and promoting a safer digital space for all.

“We are delighted to have hosted Coffee & Circumvention, shedding light on the critical issue of gender misinformation. It is imperative to address this challenge and create awareness of the need for an equitable digital environment.“Our collaboration with FeedShield Africa and their pioneering Anti-troll AI tool exemplifies the innovative solutions similar to Kuram, which is necessary to combat online abuse effectively,” she said.

In her vote of thanks, Salaudeen also revealed that Coffee & Circumvention is expected to return with another edition hosted in the last quarter of the year. She called for all present to join the collective efforts to promote gender inclusivity, raise awareness about online abuse, and empower individuals to thrive in the digital sphere.

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