Online abuse against women is entering a more dangerous phase as AI puts journalists and content creators in the crosshairs

By Tahani Elghazaly
Published June 8, 2026

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Online violence against women is no longer limited to abusive comments or short lived harassment campaigns. Recent UN findings show that artificial intelligence is expanding the scale and sophistication of the problem through deepfakes, impersonation, synthetic content and coordinated attacks. For women in public life, especially journalists and content creators, the issue is no longer just emotional strain. It is becoming a direct threat to professional credibility, personal safety and the ability to stay visible in public work.

A UN Women paper says available studies place the prevalence of technology facilitated violence against women between 16 and 58 percent. It also found that 38 percent of women report personal experience with online violence, while 85 percent of women online say they have witnessed digital abuse targeting other women. The paper warns that anonymity, speed, low cost and weak accountability allow harm to spread quickly and, in many cases, spill into offline abuse and real-world danger.

Women journalists are facing particularly sharp pressure. UNESCO said 75 percent of women journalists surveyed in 2025 experienced online violence while doing their jobs, up from the 2020 findings. It also reported that 19 percent had faced AI assisted online violence. The professional fallout is becoming harder to ignore. Self censorship among women journalists rose from 30 percent in 2020 to 45 percent in 2025. In a separate briefing, UN Women said police reports related to online violence against women journalists have doubled since 2020, and nearly one in four respondents reported anxiety and or depression linked to the abuse.

What makes AI especially dangerous is that it does not only accelerate abuse, it changes its form. UN Women says deepfakes can generate realistic images and videos capable of damaging reputations and spreading false narratives. AI tools can also create personalized threats using a victim’s own words and data, while automated systems can amplify harassment and disinformation at scale. For content creators, that creates a double risk, undermining public trust in their work while pushing them into emotional and professional exhaustion that may lead some to withdraw or go silent.

On solutions, UN Women argues that laws must keep pace with AI and that responsibility should not rest on victims alone. It calls for safety by design before tools are released, stronger platform accountability, better reporting systems and more proactive detection of harassment and falsified content. The paper also points to support tools that can help remove non consensual intimate imagery, document abuse, preserve evidence and connect survivors to help services.

For newsrooms, influencers and women creators in Canada and across the Arab world, the issue now goes beyond moderation policies. It raises a deeper question about whether women can remain visible and influential in public life without paying for that visibility with their mental safety, reputation or right to speak. The current evidence suggests this is no longer a niche issue. It is becoming part of a broader fight over women’s safety and freedom in the AI age.