Breaking the barriers of definitions: Let’s re(define) gendered disinformation

Day 1 11am 2 hours Hindi, English

Key questions:

What is gendered disinformation? What is the relationship/s between online gendered disinformation, online gendered based violence and gender based violence? Do existing definitions fit and capture the realities of the region? Are these definitions, which are predominantly developed by Western scholars, limiting our imaginations and sidelining cases and targets from the Larger World? Is there a need to re(define) or undefine gendered disinformation to capture the realities of the region and hyperlocal communities? How do we build local and hyper-local evidences of gendered disinformation in APAC?

Gender-based false narratives or gendered disinformation silences women and other marginalized groups and makes it difficult for them to safely participate in public spaces and discourse. However, most conversations around gendered disinformation focus on women in public roles. Gendered disinformation attacks against women in the public realm are more visible and traceable. Attacks on lesser known community based women leaders, gender diverse people and those without a fanfare are often hidden.

Is it because the occurrences of these cases are less. Or, it because these attacks are less visible, the examples are specific and not generalizable, there is not ‘compelling’ and traceable evidence, the impacts and manifestation are scattered in offline-onlines realms and most importantly, fewer personal stories of these targets groups are out there? If so, is there a problem in how we view gendered disinformation and do we need to go beyond the existing definitions that limit our imaginations and inclusivity?

In this workshop, we present highlights from three case studies of gendered disinformation targeting different groups in India and Pakistan. The targets and cases may not fit the usual description of gendered disinformation that targets popular women leaders in politics and in the public domain. The nature of attacks, the stories and the implications may sound different. Our case studies are hyper-local, contextual and less spoken about.