Guntrum, L. G., & Lasso Mena, V. (2025). Unmasking digital threats in the pursuit of human rights and environmental defense in La Guajira, North Colombia. Information, Communication & Society, 1–22.
Link: https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2025.2503444
Open access: Yes
Notes: Political violence is now increasingly being mediated through digital platforms, which transforms the possibilities to make sense and challenge those same structures of oppression. IN this paper, Gumtrum and Lasso Mena explore how environmental and human rights defenders experience this platformization of violence in ways that directly transform their day-to-day activism in Colombia. INtheir findings, they note that, even as there is pracarious access to technology, digital media has indeed becomea key vector thorugh which activists experience violence, whether in the form of threats, intimidation, extortion, hate speech, surveillance—all masked in digital infrastructures that make it hard (if not impossible) to find out whois behind these acts of mediated harm. Through this approach, the authors foreground an important case for approaching online harms through a socio-technical reading that recognizes the specific values and vulnerabilities of those experiences violecne, arguing that: “It is erroneous to view TFV [Technology-facilitated violence] as a discrete phenomenon; rather, it represents a continuation of the existing forms of violence that activists are subjected to.”
Abstract: Those engaged in the defense of human and land rights, particularly in areas of resource extraction, are increasingly exposed to violence, including a growing number of digital threats. In Colombia, the legacy of decades of armed conflict has overshadowed concerns regarding digital rights, resulting in reports of digital surveillance and online harassment without the requisite judicial oversight. Due to the paucity of research on this topic, this study examines the experiences of 37 environmental and human rights defenders (EHRDs) in La Guajira, North Colombia, who are leveraging information and communication technologies (ICTs) to amplify their concerns in an extractivist region with a history of human rights abuses. The findings indicate a significant prevalence of technology-facilitated violence (TFV) against EHRDs, including death threats, hacking, and hate speech through various digital channels. The spectrum of threats is attributed to several sources, including armed groups, multinational companies, and individuals within the affected communities. The study emphasizes the necessity of adopting a comprehensive approach to violence, integrating TFV into a more expansive conceptualization of violence. Failing to acknowledge the prevalence of TFV may result in an incomplete understanding of the experiences of EHRDs and the consequences of such violence, including self-censorship and emotional harm. Given the increasing overlap between digital and physical violence, we present a framework to enhance the capture and understanding of TFV. Furthermore, this study demonstrates the shortcomings of current security protocols in addressing the multifaceted violence directed at EHRDs due to their opposition to extractive agendas.
