Pakistan is experiencing a rampant rise in misinformation on transgender communities primarily because of hate campaigns run by religiopolitical groups, such as the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) and the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), against local trans communities.
This was revealed in a report prepared by the Digital Rights Monitor titled "Online Violence Against Women, Misinformation Campaigns, and Big Tech Accountability: The Case of Asia." The report, compiled by journalist Zebunnisa Burki, states that religious parties vehemently opposed the Transgender Act and created a controversy over universally accepted terminology, such as "trans" and "intersex".
It further reveals that women journalists face challenges similar to people who are transgender while navigating social media sites and the online space.
The report further highlights how the lack of corporate accountability has affected online gender-based violence and misinformation-based hate campaigns in different countries in Asia.
It looks at how the darker side of Big Tech has exposed bias, discrimination, misogyny and blatant corporate greed, "characterised by online violence and hate against women, and potent misinformation".
Turning the spotlight on Pakistan, Palestine, Turkey and Egypt, the DRM report uncovers that lack of corporate accountability has affected online gender-based violence and misinformation-based hate campaigns in these Asian countries.
Recently, wave after wave of misinformation has been regularly witnessed, which undermine democracies, polarise societies and radicalise people's minds.
But "what is new about contemporary influence operations is their scale, severity and impact, all of which are likely to grow more pronounced as digital platforms extend their reach via the internet and become ever more central to our social, economic and political lives," the report cites Eric Jardine from his report "Beware fake news".
This has particularly been felt in the countries of focus where state-led campaigns have targeted dissenting voices.
Online violence against women has shockingly increased over time. Typical tools of online violence, such as explicit messages, pornographic photos and cyberbullying, have all flourished to the point where it has become a day-to-day reality.
Women do not feel safe in the virtual space. Instead of tackling this, social media companies have mostly ignored the abuse of women online.
"The psychological and societal impact of such abuse should have been enough for tech companies to take action – which has been slow to come," writes Burki.
While providing guidelines for state, digital platforms and civil society, the report refers to the Unesco conference held in February this year, participants of which urged states to respect Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights – and "ensure that restrictions imposed on digital platforms have a legitimate basis and are specific; not take disproportionate measures on the pretext of combating disinformation; should stay away from criminalising staff of digital platforms; push for media and information literacy regarding digital platforms".
They also urged the states to respect human rights while moderating content.
Turkey, one of the largest jailors of journalists, students, and opinion leaders in the world, has seen polarisation sharpen.
"At heart, says the report, is the new disinformation bill, under which the public prosecutor can request an investigation, and a judge can order a suspension or ban of content or account on social media platforms," states the report.
In Palestine, misinformation-based hate campaigns by the Israeli state are on the rise.
In Egypt, women are targeted online, with spillover effects on their personal lives.
The Unesco guidelines would be a good starting point for tech companies to indulge in self-accountability.
This was revealed in a report prepared by the Digital Rights Monitor titled "Online Violence Against Women, Misinformation Campaigns, and Big Tech Accountability: The Case of Asia." The report, compiled by journalist Zebunnisa Burki, states that religious parties vehemently opposed the Transgender Act and created a controversy over universally accepted terminology, such as "trans" and "intersex".
It further reveals that women journalists face challenges similar to people who are transgender while navigating social media sites and the online space.
The report further highlights how the lack of corporate accountability has affected online gender-based violence and misinformation-based hate campaigns in different countries in Asia.
It looks at how the darker side of Big Tech has exposed bias, discrimination, misogyny and blatant corporate greed, "characterised by online violence and hate against women, and potent misinformation".
Turning the spotlight on Pakistan, Palestine, Turkey and Egypt, the DRM report uncovers that lack of corporate accountability has affected online gender-based violence and misinformation-based hate campaigns in these Asian countries.
The report highlights how the lack of corporate accountability has affected online gender-based violence and misinformation-based hate campaigns
Recently, wave after wave of misinformation has been regularly witnessed, which undermine democracies, polarise societies and radicalise people's minds.
But "what is new about contemporary influence operations is their scale, severity and impact, all of which are likely to grow more pronounced as digital platforms extend their reach via the internet and become ever more central to our social, economic and political lives," the report cites Eric Jardine from his report "Beware fake news".
This has particularly been felt in the countries of focus where state-led campaigns have targeted dissenting voices.
Online violence against women has shockingly increased over time. Typical tools of online violence, such as explicit messages, pornographic photos and cyberbullying, have all flourished to the point where it has become a day-to-day reality.
Women do not feel safe in the virtual space. Instead of tackling this, social media companies have mostly ignored the abuse of women online.
"The psychological and societal impact of such abuse should have been enough for tech companies to take action – which has been slow to come," writes Burki.
While providing guidelines for state, digital platforms and civil society, the report refers to the Unesco conference held in February this year, participants of which urged states to respect Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights – and "ensure that restrictions imposed on digital platforms have a legitimate basis and are specific; not take disproportionate measures on the pretext of combating disinformation; should stay away from criminalising staff of digital platforms; push for media and information literacy regarding digital platforms".
They also urged the states to respect human rights while moderating content.
Turkey, one of the largest jailors of journalists, students, and opinion leaders in the world, has seen polarisation sharpen.
"At heart, says the report, is the new disinformation bill, under which the public prosecutor can request an investigation, and a judge can order a suspension or ban of content or account on social media platforms," states the report.
In Palestine, misinformation-based hate campaigns by the Israeli state are on the rise.
In Egypt, women are targeted online, with spillover effects on their personal lives.
The Unesco guidelines would be a good starting point for tech companies to indulge in self-accountability.