Activists around the world are speaking out about the harassment they face on social media platforms owned by Meta.
A new report by the nonprofit group Global Witness found that more than 90 percent of land and environmental defenders have been bullied or abused online because of their work.
Facebook was the platform where most of the abuse happened. It was followed by X (formerly Twitter), WhatsApp, and Instagram. Many activists said the abuse online made them feel unsafe in real life. Approximately 75 percent of the people surveyed reported that the online attacks led to real-world threats or harm.
“This was worse than we expected,” said Ava Lee from Global Witness. “We already knew many climate and environmental activists were being harassed online, but these numbers are shocking.”
One activist, Fatrisia Ain from Sulawesi in Indonesia, said she was targeted after speaking out against palm oil companies. She was falsely called a communist in Facebook posts, which is a serious and dangerous accusation in her country. Even though she reported the posts, Facebook refused to take them down.
Ain also said people spread lies about her having an affair and cheating farmers. She believes this is done to ruin her reputation and scare her from continuing her work. “Women like me who defend their communities are more likely to be harassed,” she said.
The report also showed that many women face abuse just because of their gender. Almost one out of every four activists said they were attacked for being a woman. Many also received threats of sexual violence. This has affected their mental health and made them feel unsafe doing their work.
Meta responded by saying it encourages users to use tools on their apps to block or hide hurtful comments and messages. These tools include “Hidden Words” to filter bad comments and “Limits” to hide replies from strangers. Meta also said it is checking the posts about Ain.
But Global Witness says social media companies need to do more. They want these companies to hire more people for content moderation, listen to public feedback, and stop promoting hateful content through their algorithms. They also stated that the rise of fake accounts and bots is exacerbating the issue.
“There are real steps that platforms can take,” said Ava Lee. “They just need to put more money and effort into safety and content moderation.”
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Global Witness will release another report in September about the killings of land and environmental defenders. Last year, at least 196 activists were killed for their work.
