The hatred on the internet is getting worse. Many women have experienced verbal abuse, harassment, online stalking or even threats of violence and death on social media. Sanda Gutic has been an influencer for 15 years, the former Miss Bosnia now lives in Carinthia, has 19,900 followers – and a recipe against hate.
The cover girl of many magazines was born in Tyrol, but has lived on the idyllic Keutschacher See in Carinthia for a long time. Sanda likes to travel around the world and looks for new followers every day with messages from her daily life. “In 2013 I was Miss Bosnia and then I competed in the Miss World pageant in Indonesia,” says Sanda.
“I have Croatian roots and know the hate on the internet well.” Even in the former Eastern Bloc, social media norms are harsh. There is great criticism of Instagram, for example, because the medium rejects hate, misogyny, homophobia and racism – but does nothing to combat abuse.
“It’s up to you how you respond to it,” says Sanda. “There are so many positive comments from users, only a few negative ones. I only notice the positive. I always imagine: what would happen if 100,000 followers did not follow you on social media, but were right in front of you.”
‘Would they also radiate pure hatred? Hardly. That makes the situation better.” The majority of hate speech online is directed at women, and Jewish people are also affected. “We women have fought for so much together with the men. The positive perception always wins,” says Sanda.
“I like World Women’s Day, I will definitely do my own post on March 8th. The perfect posts from influencers are no longer accepted by users as often as they used to be because they are not real.”
“Whatever kind of work you do, we are all normal people. There are good and bad. Everyone has feelings. Women have fought for many rights in many countries. I support them,” Gutic said. “Authenticity is very important. If you are authentic, you will be seen very differently on social media. Slander must bounce off you. The content that is good for us defeats hate.”
Source: Krone
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