Illustration by Constanza Figueroa for GenderIT.org
Many women and girls in Indonesia use social media extensively to discuss and share knowledge on issues that affect them. While we know that the digital space provides a place to communicate, it also has a negative side, especially for vulnerable communities. That's because social media is mostly developed with a male-Western perspective, which does not guarantee the safety of its users.
Those two sides of the coin in social media bring into question the term "freedom" in the digital space. Lately, it has become the place where hate and misinformation is circulating, by a group of people who have come to be known as as cybertroops. This situation has been portrayed by Masduki in his paper, Cyber-troops, digital attack and media freedom in Indonesia.
He cited that social media was supposed to offer room for citizen voices to be heard, but on the contrary, it is also used to attack freedom of expression in Indonesia. This article explores how cybertroop operations in Indonesia could get worse, becoming digital stalkers which could endanger online safety, as well as threatening freedom online. Specifically, the author reveals how cybertroops target vulnerable groups, and have tried to silence their voices with manipulative cyberbullying behind anonymous accounts, and how these kinds of attacks infringe on women's voices.
Continue reading at GenderIT.org.