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WOMEN'S EMPOWERMENT
Unprecedented research identifies misinformation, misogyny and fraud on digital platforms
The first results of the unprecedented research "Observatory of the disinformation industry and gender violence on digital platforms" carried out by the Ministry of Women and NetLab/UFRJ refer to ads that promote scams and reinforce stereotypes against women. Tackling misogyny is one of the strategic agendas proposed by the G20 Women's Empowerment Working Group.
The Internet and Social Network Studies Laboratory (NetLab), linked to the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), identified and classified 1,565 advertisements aimed at women as problematic, irregular or illegal/fraudulent. The data was collected from the social networks Facebook, Instagram, Messenger and Audience Net. There were 28 days of collection between January and February this year.
These are the first results of the unprecedented research "Observatory of the disinformation and gender violence industry on digital platforms", which is funded and supported by the Ministry of Women's Affairs, as part of the Brasil Without Misogyny initiative.
Access the full survey report at this link.
The study identified 550 pages and profiles responsible for publishing ads categorized as toxic by NetLab, due to the type of threat they posed to women, the main target audience of the content.
The most recurrent was "risk to public or individual health", which appeared in 78.6% of the ads analyzed. It was followed by "misinformation or abusive or misleading advertising", present in 66% of the content; "reinforcement of gender stereotypes, sexism and objectification of women" (44.3%); "fraud or scam" (35%), and "use of false identity" (34%).
An analysis of the messages disseminated and the legal rules that apply to the types of ads analyzed made it possible to identify them as problematic, irregular or fraudulent.
In the next step, a more specific categorization of the type of threat posed by the ad was sought. The most recurrent was "risk to public or individual health", which appeared in 78.6% of the ads analyzed. It was followed by "misinformation or abusive or misleading advertising", present in 66% of the content; "reinforcement of gender stereotypes, sexism and objectification of women" (44.3%); "fraud or scam" (35%), and "use of false identity" (34%). Most of the ads present more than one type of threat, so there is overlap between categories.
Women's health and bodies
Of the total number of ads analyzed, 1,253 deal with issues related to women's bodies, as part of the billion-dollar aesthetics market. Advertisements are misleading, for example, when they refer to the supposed approval of the National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa), in order to give the products legitimacy. Many use resources such as logos, photos of agency fronts and deep fakes to create false narratives and apply scams.
In contrast to the research findings, more than 98% of the ads considered problematic and threatening to women were not classified as sensitive in Meta's ad system.
Tackling misogyny is one of the strategic agendas proposed by the G20 Women's Empowerment Working Group, coordinated by the Ministry of Women and whose work began under Brasil's current presidency. The first meeting of the WG took place on January 17 and 18, via videoconference, and its main agenda was to present the working themes to the members of the Group. In addition to Misogyny, Equality and Climate Justice were also proposed for debate.
SENSITIVE THEMES - In the first stage of the research, all the platforms studied belonged to Meta, which has a policy of classifying topics it considers sensitive, which includes issues such as elections, politics, social rights, health, among others.
In contrast to the research findings, more than 98% of the ads considered problematic and threatening to women were not classified as sensitive in Meta's ad system.
This is a widespread scenario of misinformation, which can lead to damage to health, financial impacts and psychological harm, according to the report, as well as creating obstacles to gender equality. "By calling into question the legitimacy of women's demands for equality, the ads hinder the advancement of the feminist agenda and strengthen gender inequalities in the judicial system," says the document.
For the Ministry of Women's Affairs, advertisements such as those assessed by the survey help to reinforce misogyny. Toxic advertising aimed at women contributes to making them more vulnerable and prepares the ground for the actions of masculinist and misogynist groups.
Among the profiles and pages that ran the most problematic ads were those that had just been created, with few followers, little data and conflicting information. For NetLab, the constant renewal of advertising pages indicates a purposeful effort to circulate false content, without ruling out the possibility of financial scams.
BRASIL WITHOUT MISOGYNY – The Ministry of Women invested BRL 300,000 in the study. Investing in research to inform public debate and decision-making is one of the fronts of the Brasil Without Misogyny initiative.
Launched by the Ministry of Women in October 2023, the initiative has more than 130 partners, including private and public companies, civil society organizations, social movements, segments such as soccer fans and religious sectors.