Online warfare against women in public life represents a challenge to women’s participation in the public sphere a possible threat to their health and safety, and at times an expression of of foreign influence operations. Using a combination of online violence and information manipulation, illiberal actors deploy coordinated campaigns aimed at silencing and driving powerful women from public life precisely when their voices matter most, such as during elections, peace negotiations, and moments of political transition. Gender plays a critical role in this picture, as a narrative tool to be exploited for the creation of wedges and with the rise of AI, these threats have dramatically increased in reach and scale, as the creation of high-volume influence operations against women leaders becomes faster, cheaper, and more dangerous than ever.
The second module of EDMOs training series on identity-based disinformation aims to provide an overview of some of the main trends, narratives and techniques used by illiberal and actors and networks when targeting women and girls across Europe.
After an initial overview of the global rise and impact of online warfare against women leaders, the training will investigate the security dimensions of these threats and the tactics used by malign actors to discredit women as well as AI-accelerated misogynist narratives. The rise of digital technologies, social media platforms and recent AI-enabled technology – including deepfake tools – has facilitated an increasingly hostile information environment for women, with repercussions for their democratic participation both online and offline.
The training will feature two case studies illustrating different facets of disinformation about women. The first investigates toxicity targeting Italian women politicians through a study using large scale data collection, which aims to identify which politicians are disproportionately targeted by gendered hostility and abuse, as well as analyzing the intersection between hate speech and disinformation. The second highlights recent shifts among manfluencers in Estonia (and beyond) that have altered the dynamics of online misogyny by exploring both the ideological and audiovisual elements of manfluencers’ content.
The session will conclude with a focus on effective responses to different forms of disinformation about women, also in the context of the EU’s regulatory framework.
Meet your Trainers
Lucina Di Meco is the co-founder of #ShePersisted, a global initiative dedicated to tackling gendered disinformation against women in politics. A women’s rights advocate and author, Lucina has been recognized by Apolitical as one of the 100 Most Influential People in Gender Policy and her work has been featured on The Guardian, The New York Times, BBC, Time Magazine, The Washington Post, Politico, Brookings, and The Council of Foreign Relations, among others.
Naja Bentzen is a policy analyst in the European Parliamentary Research Service (EPRS), working on information manipulation, information integrity and the European Democracy Shield. Between 2020 and 2024, Naja worked in the European Parliament Liaison Office in Washington DC, focusing on democracy and disinformation. While in Washington, she also held a fellowship at the German Marshall Fund US and George Mason University. Previously, Naja has worked as an open source analyst and as a journalist.
Domenico Cangemi collaborates with IDMO and the Luiss Data Lab in the fields of machine learning and data science applied to the analysis of disinformation and algorithms. He holds a PhD in Pure Mathematics from the University of Palermo and a Master’s degree in Mathematics from the University of Padua, with an experimental thesis in category theory.
Kaarel Lott is a junior research fellow in digital media studies at the University of Tartu. His PhD project focuses specifically on the rise of misogyny, gendered disinformation, and misogynist influencers in online spaces. In addition to conducting research, Kaarel has several years experience in teaching future media professionals at the University of Tartu and conducting workshops on topics of digital culture, social media, gender and misogyny.
Target group: Stakeholders in the counter disinformation community, journalists and fact-checkers; digital policy and civic tech practitioners; researchers; civil society organisations; media literacy educators and trainers.
What you will learn in this training session:
- Deepen understanding of the current disinformation narratives, techniques, tactics, actors and networks targeting women and girls across Europe
- Gain practical insights on what effective responses to online campaigns weaponizing sexist bias, including practical tips to consider when trying to counter (online) misogyny
Deadline
Register here by 26 May 2026, at 11:00 CEST