In depth
Misogyny as a commodity in digital spaces
Violence has a way of manifesting itself across different platforms – SMS, Zoom, Telegram, Facebook including the newly emerging platforms like Tik Tok and Clubhouse. The problem, therefore, lays not merely in the technology itself, but the underlying logic and profit model that propels the modus operandi of the algorithm, the content moderation policy and all other technologies deployed to…
Feminist talk
"We would like to know how to use that ... smartphone"
Access to the internet and ICTs can often be about creating and finding surprising opportunities and uses. If women are familiar with smartphones and able to use them, then this is one way of ensuring that the next generation of girls are also able to access and adopt technology.
Feminist talk
News about our community network – Portal sem Porteiras
In this layered podcast, the members of Portal sem Porteiras, Marcela and Luisa explore their excitement over the possibilities of their community network and how they are re-finding meaning and solace in connections.
Feminist talk
We are Sisters in Islam
In 2019 the High Court of Malaya (Malaysia) upheld a fatwa ruling that bans the organisation Sisters in Islam for going against Islamic teachings. In particular, this ruling limits their use of social media. Read more to hear about the complexities of activism and speech in Malaysia for feminist groups and individuals.
In depth
Are we any better at judging right from wrong? Automation in content moderation
Censorship has been replaced online by a system of content moderation controlled by companies, and these rely on both automation as well as human moderators employed to sift through content. The choice is not between the alleged neutrality of the impersonal machine and the errors and finiteness of human moderation, as both work in tandem.
In depth
“I have read and agree to the Terms and Conditions”: Informed Consent in the Age of Social Media
Research on social media, particularly relying on public and semi-public data shared by people, raises uncomfortable questions about privacy of people and their consent to being part of a research project. What questions of consent does a feminist lens on this subject raise?
Feminist talk
A response to ‘The age of the feminist influencer’
How we organise around shared causes and beliefs has changed with the internet. This piece looks at how the internet allows leadership to be decentralised, and a response to the idea that the age of influencers is necessarily a bad thing.
In depth
“Our Constitution is Strong”: Straight Digital Discourse and Disremembered Queer Accounts
What does it mean to rise to the surface of people's attention briefly because of violence done to your body, harassment, dispossession and precarity, only to be replaced the next day by the next trending hashtag? This article explores the limits of straight discourse online and the convenient elision of queer accounts and issues.
In depth
Use of social media in Manipur – Women lag behind in technological advancement
Access to the internet is finally a priority for companies and acknowledged as human right by governments. However the gender digital divide persists, and in this article we explore what uses women make of the internet in urban and rural parts of Manipur. Is this use limited to social media, what about the generation gap, and the rampant spread of election propaganda?
Publication
Offline and Out of Pocket: The Impact of the Social Media Tax in Uganda on Access, Usage, Income and Productivity
What is the impact of the social media tax in Uganda on the lives of ordinary people - including their productivity and income, access and usage of social media and the internet. Through interviews and discussions, the report explores how people are affected by the tax on the use of platforms such as Whatsapp, Facebook, Twitter.