Ahead of the 2027 polls, election observers, technology and digital rights experts have warned that online harassment, disinformation and other forms of technology-facilitated violence could discourage women from participating in Nigeria’s 2027 elections.
The observers, who spoke at a media engagement yesterday including Digital Africa Research and Safety Lab (DigiAfrica Lab), TechHer, and DigiCivic Initiative, on online safety, civic participation and emerging digital threats ahead of the 2027 general elections, tasked journalists and social media platforms to strengthen and watch out for digital threats.
They said the growing use of artificial intelligence, coordinated online attacks, manipulated social media trends and threats to publish intimate images could be weaponised against female politicians, journalists and other women in public life ahead of the elections.
Senior Programmes Officer, Women’s Digital Rights and Safety at TechHer, Gbemisola Adebowale, said technology-facilitated gender-based violence was increasingly being used to intimidate women, damage their reputations and push them out of online spaces.
She said the attacks ranged from cyber harassment and doxing, involving the publication of personal information without consent, to threats to release intimate images and the use of artificial intelligence to manipulate photographs.
According to her, such attacks are not limited to the online space, as the exposure of private information, including home addresses and details about family members, could put victims at risk of physical harm.
Adebowale said TechHer had observed a pattern in which women who were visible in public life, including politicians, journalists and social media influencers, were targeted in attempts to discourage them from expressing their views.
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She cited an instance involving a female influencer who received threats from a social media user claiming to possess and intending to publish her nude photographs, despite her denying that she had ever taken such pictures.
She said the threat attracted thousands of followers who appeared interested in seeing the alleged images, illustrating how online attacks could rapidly draw public attention and expose victims to humiliation.
According to her, the woman eventually responded publicly, denying the claim, after which the threatening posts were deleted.
Adebowale said such incidents showed how perpetrators often relied on the fear and silence of victims to achieve their objectives.
She urged journalists to avoid reporting gender-based violence in ways that reinforced stereotypes or presented the experiences of women as grounds for questioning their credibility.
She cited reports concerning women who alleged harassment by politicians but were introduced in headlines primarily by their decision to contest elective offices, warning that such framing could shift attention from the alleged misconduct to the women’s political ambitions.
The TechHer officer said journalists should consider how their choice of headlines, descriptions and images could amplify attacks or discourage women from speaking out.
She also warned that the growing availability of artificial intelligence tools could create new opportunities for perpetrators to manipulate women’s photographs, fabricate intimate images and spread misleading content during the 2027 election campaign.
Adebowale said women occupied less than six per cent of political positions in Nigeria, while figures she cited indicated that about 400 women were seeking Senate and House of Representatives seats, compared with more than 2,000 men.
She also noted that only two women were presidential candidates, arguing that the low representation of women in politics made it important to address the threats they faced when seeking public office.
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She said TechHer’s interventions included digital literacy, online safety education, research, advocacy and support for survivors of technology-facilitated gender-based violence.
Executive Director of Digital Africa Research and Safety Lab, Rosemary Ajayi, said digital threats went beyond fake news and hate speech, warning that coordinated campaigns, impersonation and manipulated trends could distort public conversations and influence perceptions of political candidates.
She cited attacks against Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan as an example of how social media trends could be manipulated to target women in public life.
Ajayi said some accounts impersonated wealthy and prominent individuals, using fake giveaways to persuade social media users to post or engage with particular hashtags.
She explained that users who believed the accounts were genuine could participate in the campaigns in anticipation of receiving money, helping the hashtags gain traction and appear among trending topics.
According to her, such campaigns could be used to spread derogatory claims against female politicians, including allegations about their personal lives, while creating the impression that the attacks reflected widespread public opinion.
Ajayi urged journalists to scrutinise trending topics before treating them as evidence of popular sentiment, asking whether a hashtag was genuinely gaining organic support or had been artificially promoted through coordinated activity and payments.
The DigiAfrica Lab executive director also warned that attacks could extend beyond the immediate targets to their spouses, children and other family members.
She cited the experiences of women in public life, including activist Aisha Yesufu, whose family members had also faced attacks, saying journalists should pay attention to the wider circle of people affected by online abuse.
Ajayi urged media organisations to investigate and document the people who suffered digital attacks during previous elections and those who could be vulnerable ahead of the 2027 polls.
She said digital rights organisations were seeking stronger collaboration with journalists so that evidence of online threats could inform reporting and help victims access technical support.
Ajayi said her organisation worked to identify, prevent and mitigate digital threats by monitoring online activities, examining suspicious patterns and engaging platforms over harmful content.
Ajayi identified the Independent National Electoral Commission as one of the institutions with which digital rights organisations could share relevant intelligence to strengthen preparedness for the next elections.
The organisations urged journalists to avoid amplifying harmful content while reporting on it, protect victims’ privacy and provide context when covering online controversies involving women
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