EXECUTIVE SUMMARY - HASHTAGS, MEMES AND SELFIES - CAN SOCIAL MEDIA AND ONLINE ACTIVISM

Social media both shapes and is shaped by gender norms: the informal rules of society that define how people of a particular gender are expected to behave, and that often entrench inequalities to the detriment of women, girls and people of diverse gender identities. [...] People were mobilised on Twitter and Facebook using the hashtags #NiUnaMenos and #VivasNosQueremos (We Want Us Alive), calling for an end to femicide and violence against women and girls, better policies to guarantee women’s safety and the end of machista culture more generally. [...] Common themes in anti-gender content include: opposition to sexual and reproductive rights agendas, particularly abortion; opposition to the idea that gender identities are socially constructed; campaigns against sexuality education and content related to gender equality, and LGBTQI+ identities in school curricula; and the inclusion of Gender Studies in higher education. [...] Other efforts involve the development and dissemination of principles and codes of conduct to promote a ‘feminist internet’, and advocacy with tech companies for more effective responses to the varied and changing forms of intersectional online violence. [...] To tackle gendered disinformation, research suggests that more investment is needed to understand the political economy of the production of gendered disinformation; that platforms need to work with gender equality activists to identify disinformation in different contexts and languages, and invest in and test effective content removal; that feminist activists from diverse locations and background.