Throughout 2025, Misbar debunked numerous claims and identified various forms of misinformation and disinformation. Gender dynamics were among the key factors influencing the creation and spread of misinformation during a year marked by multiple crises, conflicts, and controversial breaking news events.
Women’s images were extensively used to generate false or misleading claims, including AI-generated or manipulated images and videos, as well as recycled old visuals paired with inaccurate or deceptive narratives.
The phenomenon is not new. Women’s images have long been exploited in controversial contexts, particularly in tabloids and sensationalist journalism, where women were attacked, their privacy violated, or their images used in sensational ways to boost sales and attract audiences. Veteran journalists and media professionals have often referred to the pyramid of the three most attention-grabbing elements in media coverage: blood, sex, and money; some may add politics. But when a woman is placed at the center of this pyramid, the story will not only gain traction, it will go viral, often carrying harmful stereotypes, using women’s images to cause broader social damage.
Over the years, images of popular female leaders and public figures have frequently been used in tabloids, captured by paparazzi without consent, taken out of context, or repurposed to support allegations and misleading claims. One of the most widely popular examples may be the persistent use of...
The Trump administration has launched investigations into the use of diversity initiatives in hiring and promotion at major U.S. companies, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday. Google and V...