Gehrke, M., & Amit-Danhi, E. R. (2025). Gendered disinformation as violence: A new analytical agenda. Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) Misinformation Review, 6(5).

Link: https://doi.org/10.37016/mr-2020-177

Open access: Yes

Notes: In this short commentary, Gehrke and Amit-Danhi articulate gendered mis- and disinformation as a form of violence. Drawing on both critical disinformation studies and feminist theory, they argue that a recognition of the gendered harm of information disorder goes beyond intentionality to pay closer attention to the larger power imbalances present in the ecosystem in which such harmful information circulates. Gehrke and Amit-Danhi then outline a three-pronged analytical framework to grasp gendered disinformation, centring 1) multimedia content and creators, 2) victims, and 3) audiences. Through this analytical tool, the authors “highlight the ripples of secondary effects caused by gendered disinformation, thus expanding the violent potential of gendered disinformation beyond content and falsehood into the exploration of systemic violence emblematic of colonial and gendered power structures” (p.5).

Abstract: The potential for harm entrenched in mis- and disinformation content, regardless of intentionality, opens space for a new analytical agenda to investigate the weaponization of identity-based features like gender, race, and ethnicity through the lens of violence. Therefore, we lay out the triangle of violence to support new studies aiming to investigate multimedia content, victims, and audiences of false claims. Finally, we define gendered disinformation as the employment of systematic and multidirectional flows of violence through (un)conscious content manipulation, audience engagement, and victim-blaming to prevent women and gender minorities from further political participation.