Women’s rights group reports severe online abuse after pushing for removal of violent games

Collective Shout disclosed that its members faced death threats, deep-fake porn and personal data leaks after successfully lobbying platforms to stop selling games featuring sexual violence.

After Collective Shout persuaded payment providers such as PayPal, Visa and Mastercard to enforce policies that barred games containing rape, incest and sexual torture, five of its members reported a coordinated wave of online harassment, including death threats, deep-fake images of extreme violence and the public posting of personal details. United Nations special rapporteur Reem Alsalem described the campaign of abuse as the most serious form of online violence against women human-rights defenders she has observed in a long time.

The group’s director, Melinda Tankard Reist, said thousands of perpetrators across multiple platforms mobilised to punish the activists for their success. The Online Hate Prevention Institute’s report highlighted misogyny and misinformation as key drivers, noting that moderation systems and institutional responses were inadequate. Recommendations include immediate identification and removal of misogynistic content and rapid debunking of false narratives by media outlets. E-Safety Commissioner Julie Inman-Grant urged the tech industry to strengthen safeguards to prevent such weaponisation of platforms.