Review by Booklist Review
Jankowicz (How to Lose the Information War, 2020) provides a slim, guerilla-style handbook for women experiencing harassment online. She speaks directly to women about the deep misogyny of the internet and the harassment women disproportionately experience when they dare to take up space online. She describes a toxic landscape with few consequences for harassers and a general lack of understanding from the public, including law enforcement, employers, and legislative leaders. The onus, instead, falls on women to protect themselves. Each chapter offers tips for staying safe and sane while online, developed from both the author's own experiences and the experiences of key women in the tech industry, such as game developer Brianna Wu, who was targeted during Gamergate, and cybersecurity journalist Nicole Perlroth. Advice ranges from the practical, such as using password managers and antidoxing services, to the more holistic, such as creating a supportive community and getting talk therapy. A timely guide with a much-needed feminist lens.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Foreign affairs analyst Jankowicz (How to Lose the Information War) delivers a concise, functional handbook for women looking to combat online abuse. Contending that harassment is "the norm for many women engaged in public discourse," Jankowicz's advice ranges from "cyber hygiene" practices like two-factor authentication to a darkly humorous psychological analysis of trolling personalities and how to manage them. Jankowicz also discusses the harassment policies of online platforms, and offers ideas on how to build a supportive community of female peers and mentors. Though she provides plenty of data about the ubiquity of sexism and harassment online, she grounds her advice in her own experiences and the experiences of several other high-profile women, including cybersecurity journalist Nicole Perlroth, Guardian columnist Van Badham, and game designer Brianna Wu, who was targeted in the Gamergate harassment campaign. Jankowicz's advice is strategic, focused, and eminently usable, and her assertion that women need to be there to help one another while also fighting for change feels simultaneously supportive and motivational. This is an essential guide for women interested in standing up for a fairer, safer online world. (Apr.)
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
A call to action for women who have experienced online abuse. An expert on disinformation and democratization, Jankowicz is currently a fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars' Kennan Institute studying the intersection of freedom and technology in Eastern Europe. She shares details of online mistreatment--ranging from critiques of appearance to threats of physical violence--that she and other women engaged in social discourse endure. "Watching these attacks be ignored as 'the cost of doing business' in an age where an online presence is all-but-required is enraging," she writes. Jankowicz acknowledges that while her approach is not foolproof, she "can teach you the practical strategies….They will not insulate you from abuse--to some degree, the abuse is a signal you're doing something right--but they'll keep you safer." Comprised of five chapters--with titles such as "Community: Cultivating a Circle of Solidarity" and "Tenacity: Speaking Up and Fighting Back"--the body of the work is roughly 80 pages, including a blank page at the end of each chapter. In many ways, this feels more like a long-form blog post than a book, and the text contains too much repetition. In the first chapter, for instance, Jankowicz uses the term password managermore than 15 times: "Use a password manager," "Set up password manager," and, later, on the same page, "Use password manager." While her advice is inarguably sensible, she offers little information beyond what is already freely available. "Amplify other women," she suggests. Several recommendations require connections and/or resources that some readers may not have--e.g., "Get a therapist"; "Often the best way to get action on content that is clearly violating a platform's terms of service is to get it in front of a human as quickly as possible." Still, the author's forthright, sometimes blisteringly witty tone makes for smart company. A successful codification of practical, occasionally fiery methods of protection and means of attack. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
