Almost a quarter of the defenders who received online abuse say they are attacked on the basis of their sex, and almost a fifth say they are attacked on the basis of their gender identity.
Fatrisia, a defender from Indonesia said: “Unidentified attackers have taken photos from my personal Instagram account and posted them on Facebook group pages with lots of followers. These posts were filled with hate speech and lies about me.
“They said I am rumoured to be having an affair with a fellow activist, which is a serious allegation in Indonesia, as I am a young, unmarried woman. I think they are trying to shame me and take away my credibility.”
Along side this, 35 per cent of the respondents to the survey who experienced online abuse and harassment said that they had received offline threats of criminalisation (such as arrests), and 30 per cent said they had actually been criminalised for their activism.
Safety
Sharanya, a defender from India said: “I think there is a relationship between what’s happening online and offline.
“Attackers use the online space as a means of defamation, of naming and shaming, and then use the offline space to physically threaten us and scare us, putting us under surveillance, throwing stones at our houses. They’re trying to silence us.”
Almost two-thirds of the defenders who experienced online abuse and harassment say that they believe that there are aspects of digital platforms that have exacerbated the abuse and harassment they suffered.
When asked to give more detail about social media features that drive abuse, defenders highlighted the polarising nature of the algorithms, the lack of resourcing allocated towards moderation and complaints, platforms allowing trolls and bots to operate, and the monetisation techniques some platforms offer users.
Global Witness is joining defenders worldwide to demand better protections from social media platforms, in particular those owned by Meta and X. In recent years both companies have rowed back safety mechanisms in the name of ‘free speech’.
Challenges
The survey findings suggest this approach may be undermining freedom of expression of vulnerable groups, such as defenders.
A survey of 468 climate scientists published by Global Witness in 2023 revealed similar patterns. A total of 39 per cent had experienced online harassment related to their work, with this figure rising to 49 per cent among more established scientists.
Ava Lee, a campaign strategy lead at Global Witness said: “The climate crisis is taking its toll on everyone on the front lines of the fight for justice.
“And right now, social media companies are making it harder for people to do this essential work by allowing hate and harassment to push people away from the movement. It doesn’t have to be this way.
By investing in safety and content moderation, rather than reducing it to curry favour with President Trump, and prioritising points of unity over division, social media companies can lay the foundations for the important discussions that need to take place so we can meet the challenges of the climate crisis head on.”
Communities
Global Witness gave Google, Meta, TikTok and X and opportunity to comment on its main findings.
Meta directed the group to its Safety Center and resources on bullying and harassment prevention, which include a “hidden words” feature which allows users to filter offensive comments and direct messages, and a “limits”.
TikTok pointed the researchers to its community guidelines on harassment and bullying and said that it do not allow harassing, degrading or bullying statements and behaviour. The others declined to comment.
The new findings come ahead of Global Witness’s annual defenders report for 2025, which contains statistics on the killings and disappearances of land and environmental defenders worldwide for 2024, to be published in September.
In 2023, at least 196 defenders were killed worldwide for protecting their land, communities or the environment, according to last year’s report.
This Author
Brendan Montague is a member of the editorial team at The Ecologist online. This article is based on a press release from Global Witness.
