Rainbow-burning: how social media companies increase risks for LGBTQ+ people in Africa

In many countries across Africa, consensual same-sex acts have been criminalized by colonial-era laws. In addition, the recent rise of a global anti-rights movement has sparked an uptick in LGBTQ+ repression. As a result of crackdowns and enforcement of anti-LGBTQ+ legislations that undermine human rights, LGBTQ+ people are now facing significantly increased risks, online and off.

While the online space has often been a safer alternative to meeting in person for LGBTQ+ people who want to build community, find avenues of expression, advocate for their rights, and access life-saving information, the increasingly threatening environment is further shrinking digital spaces.

To investigate these threats, Access Now conducted research between January 2023 and September 2024, documenting a total of 214 threatening posts on social media platforms TikTok, X (formerly known as Twitter), Facebook, and YouTube, as well as via the private messaging service WhatsApp. (We included WhatsApp in the scope of our investigation due to its popularity and uses in the region, but it has distinct features; see more on the distinction in the cases and recommendations sections below.)

The content in these posts contained a range of threats, such as non-consensual distribution of intimate imagery, incitement to violence, disinformation, dead-naming, entrapment, and doxxing against LGBTQ+ people in Kenya, Uganda, Ghana, Nigeria, and Ethiopia. We and our partners reported these posts to the relevant companies.

Our main finding: out of 214 posts reported via in-app mechanisms and directly to the social media platforms and WhatsApp, only 51 of the terms-of-service and human rights-violating posts were taken down. That’s unacceptable. Both governments and companies are failing to uphold human rights for all, and digital platforms are becoming tools for “rainbow burning” — that is, the practice of stoking hatred and violence against LGBTQ+ people for political gain.

Below, we share a high-level overview of our data; analysis of the political context driving anti-LGBTQ+ attacks; an overview of tech company policies that facilitate these attacks; a summary of the applicable human rights standards; and our policy recommendations for companies and government authorities to meet their human rights obligations and keep LGBTQ+ people safe from harm.