Disinformation and Identity-Based Violence

Disinformation spread via digital technologies is accelerating and exacerbating violence globally. There is an urgency to understand how coordinated disinformation campaigns rely on identity-based disinformation that weaponizes racism, sexism, and xenophobia to incite violence against individuals and marginalized communities, stifle social movements, and silence the press.

The purposeful spread and amplification of identity-based disinformation is not just an individual expression of individual bias but instead represents the systematic weaponization of discrimination to make hateful narratives go viral. At the core of identity-based disinformation is the exploitation of individuals’ or groups’ senses of identity, belonging, and social standing.

Responding to identity-based disinformation will require technical and human responses that are collaborative, locally relevant, and community-driven. Given the extent of the harms posed by identity-based disinformation, there is a continued need to develop, implement, and improve responses.