The ‘Cost of Doing Politics’? Gendered Abuse and Digital Platforms’ Role In Undermining Democracy

In this study for the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD), Paula-Charlotte Matlach, Analyst at ISD Germany, and Charlotte Drath, Research Consultant at ISD, examine online gender-based violence on TikTok, which is becoming an important space for political expression. Matlach and Drath have conducted an audit of the platform’s search algorithm and its content moderation on sexual violence and analyzed the harmful gendered content in Hungary and Germany, as well as within the contexts of the 2024 European Parliamentary and French legislative elections. ISD’s key findings show “how digital platforms like TikTok shape the landscape of gendered violence and how online manifestations of discrimination threaten individual rights while undermining democratic principles and institutions.”