In Senegal, digital spaces have become battlegrounds where women face a disturbing trend: gendered misinformation campaigns designed to silence them. A groundbreaking study reveals that 61% of women surveyed in Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire have encountered such targeted disinformation, which focuses on their bodies, sexuality, and private lives rather than their professional or political contributions.
This form of misinformation differs markedly from that targeting men, which typically attacks ideas, policies, or public statements. Instead, women—whether politicians, journalists, activists, or public figures—are systematically undermined through attacks on their morality, personal integrity, or intimate lives. The study, presented by researcher Sadia Mandjo, highlights how these campaigns aim to discredit women’s legitimacy in the public sphere.