Event Details
Wednesday October 27, 2021 12:00 pmvia Zoom
Inside Baseball: Demystifying Anti-LGBTQ+ Online Abuse
What is deadnaming? How do trolls coordinate cyber mobs? Where do trolls find info for doxing, and how can I protect myself? Why did my channel get suspended? How did my account get hacked?
In the first installment of this three-part webinar series on LGBTQ+ digital safety and online abuse defense, experts and journalists will discuss real-world case studies of anti-LGBTQ+ online abuse and explore the unique challenges faced by LGBTQ+ writers, journalists, creators, and activists—with an emphasis on understanding, mitigating, and responding to abusive tactics. Join us for a dynamic discussion and come with questions.
Speakers
Evan Greer (she/her/they/them) is a queer and trans activist, musician, and writer based in Boston. She’s the director of the digital rights group Fight for the Future, leading hard-hitting campaigns on issues ranging from restoring net neutrality to banning facial recognition. Her most recent indie punk album, Spotify is Surveillance, hit the very bottom of the Billboard charts and received favorable coverage in Rolling Stone and Pitchfork. Greer is a regular guest on TV and radio discussing tech policy and LGBTQ+ issues, and writes often for outlets like WIRED, NBC News, The Guardian, Newsweek, Buzzfeed, VICE, and TIME.
Sharif Durhams (he/him/his) is the national board president of NLGJA: The Association of LGBTQ Journalists and has been a member of the organization for over 20 years. He also is managing editor of The News & Observer in Raleigh, NC and has been editor at The Washington Post and CNN.
Jenni Olson (she/her/TBD) leads GLAAD’s work spotlighting new and existing safety issues facing LGBTQ social media users— dvocating for solutions in numerous realms: online hate and harassment, AI bias, polarizing algorithms, data privacy, and more—working every day to hold platforms accountable and to secure safe online spaces for LGBTQ people. Photo Credit: Bret Hartman/TED
Leigh Honeywell (she/her/hers) is the cofounder and CEO of Tall Poppy, where she helps companies protect their employees from online harassment. She was previously a Technology Fellow at the ACLU’s Project on Speech, Privacy, and Technology, and also worked at Slack, Salesforce, Microsoft, and Symantec. Honeywell has a bachelor’s in computer science and equity studies from the University of Toronto.
Kat Lo (she/her/hers) is content moderation lead at Meedan and research affiliate at the UC Irvine’s Steckler Center for Responsible, Ethical, and Accessible Technology. Her work seeks to translate the experiences of targets of harassment and online moderators into product and policy insights for social media companies and civil society. She has provided crisis support for targets of online harassment for over a decade and has worked with OnlineSOS, Tall Poppy, the Southern Poverty Law Center, the Games and Online Harassment Hotline, AnyKey, and the Fair Play Alliance to tackle issues around misinformation, online hate, and harassment.
About the PEN America Fall Bootcamp on LGBTQ+ Digital Safety
Online abuse can threaten livelihoods, damage mental health, lead to self-censorship, and even migrate offline. Members of the LGBTQ+ community are disproportionately targeted. According to a 2021 ADL/YouGov study, 64 percent of LGBTQ+ people experience online hate and harassment. From hateful slurs and sexual harassment to impersonation, account hacking, and doxing, abusive tactics are intended to intimidate, discredit, and silence. LGBTQ+ writers, journalists, creators, and activists—whose work increasingly requires an online presence—face a double bind.
But there are steps we can all take to protect ourselves and one another from online abuse. Join PEN America, GLAAD, NLGJA: The Association of LGBTQ Journalists, and the Trans Journalists Association (TJA) for a free webinar series offering a crash course on digital safety and online abuse defense. Hear from folks on the front line, and exchange strategies for how to stay safe and fight back.