Toxic platforms, broken planet

Global Witness conducted a global survey of 204 land and environmental defenders, finding that 92% have experienced online abuse or harassment. The report highlights a strong link between online attacks—such as doxxing and cyberattacks—and offline harms, including physical violence and criminalisation. Meta's platforms (Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram) are identified as the most common sites of abuse. The report argues that profit-driven business models, polarising algorithms, and inadequate content moderation resourcing exacerbate these threats, creating a chilling effect on climate activism.

• A vast majority of land and environmental defenders experience online harassment, with 92% of survey respondents reporting some form of online abuse or harassment related to their work. These harms include public social media attacks, doxxing, and cyberattacks.
• Online abuse frequently serves as a precursor or contributor to real-world violence. 75% of respondents who experienced offline harm believe online abuse contributed to it, a figure that rises to 84% for defenders in Africa, Latin America, and Asia.
• Meta-owned platforms are the primary sites of abuse for defenders. 82% of defenders who suffered online abuse reported it occurring on at least one of Meta's platforms (Facebook, WhatsApp, or Instagram), with Facebook cited as the platform where the highest number of defenders suffered abuse.
• There is a significant failure in platform responsiveness and a regional disparity in moderation. Only 12% of defenders who reported abuse were satisfied with the platform's response. Furthermore, 72% of European respondents received some response to their reports, compared to only 50% of African respondents.
• Defenders identify specific business model features that exacerbate harm: polarising algorithms that drive engagement through outrage, a lack of moderation resourcing, the proliferation of anonymous bots and trolls, and the use of paid monetisation to amplify smear campaigns.
• Online abuse is frequently used to facilitate the criminalisation of activists. 35% of defenders who experienced online abuse received offline threats of criminalisation, and 30% were actually criminalised (e.g., arrested). This includes 'red-tagging' or accusing defenders of being communists or terrorists.
• Women defenders face specific gendered attacks, including rape threats and false allegations of sexual relationships. Nearly 25% of defenders reporting online abuse say they are attacked based on their sex, and nearly 20% based on their gender identity.

APA

Global Witness (2025). Toxic platforms, broken planet. https://globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/digital-threats/toxic-platforms-broken-planet/

Chicago

Global Witness. Toxic platforms, broken planet. 2025. https://globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/digital-threats/toxic-platforms-broken-planet/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Global Witness |title=Toxic platforms, broken planet |date=March 2025 |url=https://globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/digital-threats/toxic-platforms-broken-planet/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{globalwitness2025toxic, author = {{Global Witness}}, title = {{Toxic platforms, broken planet}}, institution = {Global Witness}, year = {2025}, month = mar, url = {https://globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/digital-threats/toxic-platforms-broken-planet/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }