Caught in a digital storm
We speak to women from Australia and the UK about what happened when they found themselves at the centre of a social media backlash
Are women treated unfairly on social media, and is the situation worse for women of colour? Krupa Padhy meets two social activists who unexpectedly found themselves at the centre of a digital storm, and asks what happened next.
Munroe Bergdorf is a British model, DJ and social activist who came to public attention in 2017 when she was employed as the first transgender model in a L'Oreal cosmetics campaign. She was dropped by the company after a social media post in which she said all white people were guilty of racial violence, prompting a swift backlash. She says her words were taken out of context but she stands by them. Munroe received rape and death threats for weeks, but she fought back, has secured a new beauty contract and is now a public speaker on race issues.
Yassmin Abdel-Magied is a Sudanese-Australian engineer, writer and activist who was named Queensland Young Australian of the Year 2015. However just two years later she found herself facing a barrage of criticism after posting a seven word status online that was seen by many as disrespectful to fallen soldiers on Anzac Day. Although she apologised immediately, she says that didn't stop her becoming the most publicly hated Muslim in Australia, and the months of abuse only calmed down when she left the country for good.
(L) Munroe Bergdorf. Credit: Elvind Hansen
(R) Yassmin Abdel-Magied. Credit: Lucy Alcorn
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We throw words at Munroe and Yassmin
Duration: 01:37
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- Mon 29 Jan 2018 00:32GMT成人快手 World Service East and Southern Africa, South Asia, West and Central Africa & East Asia only
- Mon 29 Jan 2018 03:32GMT成人快手 World Service Online, Americas and the Caribbean, UK DAB/Freeview & Europe and the Middle East only
- Mon 29 Jan 2018 04:32GMT成人快手 World Service South Asia & East Asia only
- Mon 29 Jan 2018 05:32GMT成人快手 World Service Australasia
- Mon 29 Jan 2018 11:32GMT成人快手 World Service except News Internet
- Mon 29 Jan 2018 21:32GMT成人快手 World Service East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa only
- Mon 29 Jan 2018 23:32GMT成人快手 World Service Australasia, Online, Americas and the Caribbean, UK DAB/Freeview & Europe and the Middle East only
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