(WASHINGTON)–A new study released today by the Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT) finds that women of color candidates in U.S. elections encounter mis- and disinformation and the worst kinds of online harassment at higher rates than other candidates. Based on Twitter data from the 2020 Congressional elections, the research finds that women of color candidates were:
- Twice as likely as other candidates to be targeted with or be the subject of mis- and disinformation;
- More than four times as likely as white candidates and twice as likely as men of color candidates to be targeted with violent abuse;
- More likely to be targeted with or be the subject of posts that combined mis- and disinformation and abuse than any other group of candidates;
- More likely to receive sexist and racist abuse than any other group, including white women (in the case of sexist abuse) and men of color (in the case of racist abuse); and
- At least five times more likely than other candidates to be targeted with tweets related to their identity that focused specifically on their gender and race.
Dhanaraj Thakur, CDT Research Director and co-author of the report, says:
“These findings should worry us all because a healthy democracy requires political participation and representation of all segments of society. If a significant group of citizens–in this case, women of color–encounter additional barriers to running and staying in office, it means our democracy has a serious problem.
This is one of the first studies to examine the problem of mis- and disinformation and abuse using a representative sample of all women of color candidates that ran in 2020. It builds on the work of researchers, particularly those from communities of color, who have pointed to this problem for some time. And the findings are alarming.”
Across all demographics, this group of women candidates were subject to the highest levels of mis- and dis-information, violent and sexist abuse, or both. They were also more likely to receive tweets where the main focus was their gender and racial identities.
The individual stories we heard from candidates were disturbing, and online harassment could have a chilling effect on women of color who are considering running for office. More than any other group, they have to confront threats to their families, racial and misogynistic insults, and mis- and dis-information.”
The CDT report has two parts. Part I is a content analysis of over 100,000 posts on Twitter during the 2020 election that were targeted at or were about a random selection of candidates that ran for Congress. The objective was to compare the levels of mis- and disinformation and abuse targeted at or about different groups of candidates. Part II aimed to get a sense of the impact these attacks have by interviewing more than a dozen women of color candidates and campaign staff from 14 campaigns.
The study concludes with recommendations for social media platforms, researchers, other political candidates (particularly women of color), and their parties on how to address the problem in future campaigns.
ABOUT CDT
CDT is a 27-year-old 501(c)3 nonpartisan nonprofit organization that fights to put democracy and human rights at the center of the digital revolution. It works to promote democratic values by shaping technology policy and architecture, with a focus on equity and justice.