This report investigates the surge in online anti-trans activism following violent extremist attacks targetting LGBTIQ+ communities, focusing on the October 2022 attack in Bratislava and the March 2023 school shooting in Nashville. Using a postcolonial analytical framework, the authors demonstrate that online responses to these attacks were predominantly characterised by transmisogyny - targeting trans- women in particular - and rooted in colonial gender logics that assign legitimacy of violence to white cisgender men.
The analysis identifies three dominant narratives in post-attack online discourse: the erasure of trans- identities, the overlap of transmisogyny with other forms of discrimination, and the demonisation of trans- communities. The report argues that anti-trans activism is not a peripheral or secondary concern within extremist ecosystems, but a central mechanism through which far-right and authoritarian ideologies are reinforced.
The report concludes with practical recommendations for technology companies, emphasising the need to take transmisogyny seriously through improved definitions, content moderation strategies, and collaboration with subject-matter experts to mitigate online harm while safeguarding human rights.