My Latest Publications
UltraViolet
Social media fails women: The report card
In addition to policy recommendations, UltraViolet released a report card assigning letter grades to social media platforms such as Facebook/Instagram, YouTube/Google, TikTok, Reddit, and Twitter.Each platform is graded based on current hate speech policies and processes, including the removal of disinformation, threats of violence, white nationalist content, and discrimination based on gender identity, race, and sexual orientation. UltraViolet worked with research group Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD) to investigate and review current policies and enforcement procedures across the platforms.
LGBTQ Nation
Ron DeSantis should remember the first rule of Disney. Evil never wins.
DeSantis may think that he is winning by passing the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, spreading hate, and forcing Orange and Osceola counties to take on Disney’s debt. But if there’s one thing Disney taught me it’s that evil never wins in the end.
Teen Vogue
Texas Republican Leadership Failed Disabled People During Winter Storm Disaster
Over the last year, we’ve seen that racism and sexism have forced women of color to endure some of the worst impacts of the pandemic and the ongoing threat and trauma of state-led violence against Black people. Similarly, people with disabilities — many of whom are also women of color — have been treated as though their lives are less valuable, and told they have no "quality of life.” Now, many systematically marginalized communities in Texas — groups already bearing the brunt of the pandemic — have endured the worst impacts of the power outages. One in four Texans has a disability and, according to Human Rights Watch, healthcare disparities and other gender-based factors make women more likely to develop a disability in their lifetimes. Women with disabilities already face many barriers to equality like lower pay, high unemployment rates, isolation, and higher rates of sexual violence. It’s easy to see how these circumstances could make navigating a winter storm particularly difficult. But losing access to electricity and water only amplifies the existing inequalities: For people with disabilities it can be literally impossible to survive or live independently without electricity.
UltraViolet
Fairness guide for covering women and people of color in politics
The media must play a role in ensuring that women and people of color running for, nominated for, or holding positions of power in government are represented fairly. With the nomination process due to begin soon for the first Black woman Supreme Court justice, this updated guide will help journalists, reporters, and social media platforms identify and avoid unintentional sexist and racist bias or disinformation when interviewing, writing about, or moderating content about women and people of color, particularly Black women.
UltraViolet
Policy recommendations for a feminist net
Social media is not a safe place for Black, Indigenous, Asian American/Pacific Islander/Desi, Latinx, and women of color, who face an onslaught of both racist and misogynist attacks, including vicious gendered disinformation campaigns.
The policy recommendations in this document have been put together by UltraViolet, with extensive input and research from advocacy groups, researchers, and experts across the gender, racial, LGBTQ, and media justice spaces. By adopting, enacting, and enforcing these recommendations, social media platforms will champion gender equity and protect the speech and safety of women, girls, and other marginalized people.