This study has been conducted to research the phenomenon of gendered disinformation in Ukraine, focusing on specific threats faced by Ukrainian women media workers while performing journalistic work. This is one of the first thorough attempts to research the issue of gendered disinformation, particularly regarding Ukrainian women journalists, during the Russian military aggression in Ukraine.
Due to the lack of attention to the issue of gendered disinformation from the government and from specific institutions, particularly the media, women who face information attacks are left alone with the problem and its consequences, which may eventually lead to a decreased engagement of women in social and political processes. Raising critical subjects and fighting for the rights of others, women media workers are not always ready to stand up for themselves, since precedents of public exposure and response to gendered disinformation in particular are isolated cases so far, rather than a systematic pattern.
For the first time, the authors draw the connections between specific genderbased fakes with general narratives; therefore, it is advisable to track Russian narratives on which gendered disinformation about Ukrainian women media workers is based. It is one of the means of undermining the entire country by forming a negative image of active women who raise important, contentious subjects. The narratives that underlie gendered disinformation are part of the Russian propaganda machine, the grand narrative about Ukraine.
We hope that the information published herein will contribute to making the issue of gendered disinformation more visible and help find ways of overcoming it. We also hope this information will be used to develop assistance and support programs for women journalists in Ukraine.
This study was authored by the NGO “Women in Media” within the framework of the “Voices of Ukraine” project. This project was implemented by the European Center for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF) with the support of the German Federal Foreign Office. The authors are responsible for the content of the study. The views presented do not necessarily reflect the views of ECPMF and / or the German Federal Foreign Office.