According to the results of a comprehensive study conducted by UNESCO, nearly 75% of the female journalists who participated in the survey have experienced online violence, and about a quarter of them have been threatened with physical assault or even murder.
Given the increasing role of AI-based technologies in exacerbating online harassment—including the production and dissemination of deepfake content, malicious doxxing, and various forms of harassment—UNESCO has called for more serious and effective measures to counter gender-based violence facilitated by AI. The organization emphasizes that only through dialogue, support activities, and the reform of media and digital policies can safer physical and online spaces be created for women working in media.
According to a report by the news agency Nasaa FM, female journalists are facing a growing wave of deepfakes, deliberate doxxing, and cyberattacks—phenomena that have all been intensified by advances in artificial intelligence. When AI-generated manipulated content is released against a female journalist, the action is not limited to damaging her image; it also targets her professional credibility, personal safety, and her media voice. The increasing power of generative AI tools has given groups intent on silencing female journalists greater capacity for digital abuse—an issue with broader dimensions that encompasses all women.
In this context, UNESCO, in collaboration with prominent international media outlets, has launched a global campaign to highlight the increasing AI-based threats against female journalists. According to the report, female journalists online contend with gender-based disinformation, digital surveillance, deepfakes, and various forms of harassment and threats—a type of violence known as “technology-facilitated gender-based violence.” This form of abuse is specifically designed to crush morale, destroy credibility, and silence women active in media, and in recent years, it has taken on more alarming dimensions with the emergence of new AI technologies.
The results of UNESCO’s extensive 2022 survey titled “The Chilling: The Impact of Online Violence on Female Journalists” show that 73% of female journalists have experienced online threats, and a quarter of them have subsequently been attacked in the real world. More broadly, 58% of young women and girls worldwide report having faced harassment on social media—a statistic indicating that the scope of this crisis is not limited to journalism and affects many women across various fields.
UNESCO’s field research confirms this trend in different countries. In Zimbabwe, 63% of female journalists participating in the survey reported being victims of technology-facilitated gender-based violence, including hate speech and humiliation through images. One of the most common forms of this harassment is deliberate doxxing, which severely threatens the personal security of victims. A more alarming point is that many of these online threats have spilled over into the real world, with 14% of female journalists reporting having been victims of physical violence following online threats.
Conditions in Ukraine are also critical, where 81% of female journalists have experienced online violence, including defamation, gender-based harassment, threats to their families, and even real-world stalking and harassment.
Every year, November 2nd is commemorated as the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists—a day emphasizing the necessity of comprehensive protection for media workers and holding perpetrators of violence against journalists accountable. The theme for the 2025 observance, focusing on “Artificial Intelligence and Gender-Based Violence,” has been chosen to raise broader awareness about violence against female journalists facilitated by AI. This campaign is designed to strengthen the implementation of the UN Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity and calls for exposing and curbing digital violence through dialogue, media support, and reforming macro-policies to create a safer environment online and in reality.
The 2025 campaign slogan warns that the ease of misusing AI technologies can pave the way for silencing female journalists’ voices, distorting their words, removing them from the public sphere, and spreading hate speech.
UNESCO has emphasized that ensuring the safety of female journalists is a prerequisite for defending freedom of expression for all people worldwide—especially in an era where AI is redefining the face of media and the flow of information. The organization has called on media, civil society institutions, and digital space users to join this global campaign, not to remain silent in the face of AI-facilitated gender-based violence, and to share in disseminating and amplifying the campaign’s message.
UNESCO