A strange and troubling online campaign is using artificial intelligence to dehumanize, discredit, and economically marginalize Black women. Here's what's happening and why we need to fight back.

The Attack is Multi-Pronged

In recent weeks, a disturbing pattern has emerged across social media platforms. AI-generated videos are flooding feeds with two distinct but related types of harmful content targeting Black women:

Type 1: Dehumanization Through Racist Caricatures
Viral AI videos are depicting Black women as animals, using age-old racist tropes that reduce us to subhuman stereotypes. These aren't random acts of individual prejudice. It is content designed to normalize seeing Black women as less than human.

Type 2: Cultural Appropriation and Voice Theft
Simultaneously, AI is being used to steal the exact words and insights of Black women creators, placing them in the mouths and faces of white avatars. This allows others to benefit from Black intellectual labor while the original creators receive no credit, compensation, or recognition.

This Isn't New—It's Digital Jim Crow

The strategy is as old as America itself: undermine Black women's credibility, steal their contributions, and limit their economic opportunities. What's new is the technology being used to execute it at unprecedented scale and sophistication.

During Reconstruction, when Black political and economic power was rising, similar propaganda campaigns were used to justify systematic oppression. The methods have evolved, but the goal remains the same: maintain existing power structures by preventing Black women from accumulating independent influence and wealth.

This targeting isn't accidental. Black women represent a unique threat to existing power structures because we drive political change. Black women are the most reliable Democratic voting bloc and often lead grassroots organizing efforts

We shape culture. We influence trends, conversations, and social movements online and offline. We build economic independence. Black women start businesses at higher rates than any other demographic
and we understand intersectional oppression. Our lived experience with both racism and sexism makes us natural leaders in recognizing and fighting systemic injustice.

The Real Goal: Economic Silencing

The ultimate objective isn't just to hurt feelings—it's to destroy economic opportunities. By flooding platforms with fake, degrading content while stealing authentic contributions, this campaign aims to make Black women's real voices invisible while appropriating anything valuable we create.

This digital harassment didn't emerge in a vacuum. Since this regime has taken power, Black women have been fired from over 300,000 jobs. Grant programs for Black businesses have been cut or sued out of existence. These people don't want us making money independently. They want us so broke and so poor that we will shut up and be so wrapped up in our survival while they extract our labor and leave us with crumbs that we will fight each other for. Same shit. Different decade. They seem to want us locked out of all economic opportunity. So that we become... what? I'm drawing conclusions and they're pretty dark, quite honestly. But I think they gave away the game with those coordinated text message that targeted Black, Latino, and LGBTQ communities immediately after the 2024 election—messages telling people to report for cotton picking, deportation, or "re-education camps." If you think I'm being paranoid, just look at what is happening to immigrants right now. They are being kidnapped off the streets and renditioned.

These incidents reveal sophisticated data collection and targeting capabilities, suggesting organized efforts rather than random trolling. As we potentially enter an era of increased tech oligarch influence over policy and platforms, call me paranoid, but this feels like preparation for broader campaigns of digital suppression.

How We Fight Back - What the Research Says Actually Works

Research on Black creator erasure by Samone Boone of California State University, Northbridge as well as research by others reveals specific tactics that have proven effective against coordinated digital suppression campaigns:

Document Everything for Legal Action: Screenshot, record, and share evidence before reporting. The research shows that systematic documentation creates the evidence base needed for intellectual property lawsuits and advertiser pressure campaigns. Create collective databases of harassment - this isn't just for awareness, it's building legal cases.

Copyright and Trademark Your Work: Academic research confirms that "ownership of intellectual property creates a path for Black creators to receive proper credit and compensation." Black creator Michaela Jennings successfully trademarked her "the girls that get it, get it" sound after companies and influencers used it without permission. Don't just create - legally protect what you create.

Algorithmic Mutual Aid: The most successful resistance strategy documented in research is creators developing networks to help each other circumvent shadow banning. Create content that helps other marginalized creators find each other when algorithms try to separate you. Build alternative discovery systems that bypass platform control.

Coordinated Mass Action: The #BlackTikTokStrike of 2021 brought national attention to cultural appropriation and forced conversations about systematic bias, even though platforms resisted lasting change. Organized collective action works - it just needs to be sustained.

Economic Pressure Through Advertiser Targeting: Never underestimate the power of putting pressure on advertisers supporting platforms that allow this content. Hit them where it hurts—their revenue streams. Boycott companies and share your experiences with others. Research shows platforms respond faster to advertiser pressure than user complaints.

Platform Warfare: Mass report harmful content using platforms' own language about impersonation, deepfakes, and harassment. But the research shows this works best when combined with other tactics, not as a standalone strategy.

Diversify and Build Alternatives: Diversify across platforms, create direct audience relationships, and support Black-owned digital infrastructure. There are Black owned social media apps, unfortunately, they haven't gotten much tractions, but post your content there, too. The research emphasizes that platform independence is crucial for long-term resistance.

Coalition Building: Connect with other targeted creators and civil rights organizations. This affects all marginalized communities. The research shows that intersectional coalitions are more effective than isolated resistance.

Demand Algorithmic Transparency: The research calls for forcing platforms to reveal how their algorithms work, particularly around content moderation and promotion. Small algorithmic changes can make or break entire careers, so understanding these systems is crucial for fighting bias.

Legislative Action: The truth is, the government should be regulating this technology, not giving them carte blanche to do whatever the hell they want. Our elected officials should do more on the federal level, but don't sleep on putting pressure on your local elected officials — especially since this bullshit bill they're trying to push through is set to stop states and local governments from regulating AI, unless of course, the AI is "woke" — whatever the hell that means. Push for stronger deepfake laws and right-of-publicity protections that address race, gender, and sexuality based harassment.

Involve Institutional Support: Research shows individual resistance isn't enough. The most successful pushback combines legal action, economic pressure, platform accountability, and community building simultaneously. Get social workers, civil rights organizations, and policymakers involved - treat this as the civil rights issue it is.

What The Research Reveals About Their Strategy

Academic studies confirm what many Black creators have experienced: this isn't random harassment, it's systematic economic warfare. Research documents that Black creators face disproportionate shadow banning, content moderation, and algorithmic suppression compared to white counterparts. The study found that when Black creators use AAVE (their own cultural dialect), they get censored, while white creators appropriating the same language get promoted.

The research reveals that "digital blackface" is deliberately profitable — white creators performing Black cultural expressions see increased engagement and brand deals, while Black creators get excluded from monetization programs. This economic incentive structure makes the appropriation systematic rather than accidental.

Most damning: the research shows that platforms' AI algorithms enable what scholars call "discriminatory predation" — exploiting Black creators for content while excluding them from opportunities. The technology isn't neutral; it's designed to extract value from Black creativity while denying Black creators the economic benefits.

The Stakes Are Higher Than Individual Harm

This isn't just about individual creators being harassed—it's about who gets to participate in the digital economy and on what terms. If we allow AI to be weaponized against Black women without consequence, we're accepting a future where technology systematically reinforces existing inequalities.

The internet was supposed to democratize access to information, audiences, and economic opportunities. Instead, we're watching it become another tool for the same old systems of oppression, just with better graphics and faster deployment.