Attacked for gender, not views: HK women protesters facing troll army

Rape threats, body-shaming and doctored photos: women supporting the anti-government protests in Hong Kong say they are being harassed online by suspected pro-Beijing trolls.

Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators have taken to the financial hub's streets week after week in the biggest challenge to China's rule of the semi-autonomous city for decades.

But female protesters posting support for the pro-democracy movement said they have experienced a slew of sexist online attacks in response.

"They are not attacking my views or anything, they just attack me because I am female," said Hong Kong student Mickey Leung Ho Wun.

The 17-year-old discovered a doctored picture of her at a pro-democracy rally was being spread on Facebook via a page supporting the city's police.

In the original, Wun is standing next to a banner reading 'I am a secondary school student' but in the altered version, the sign reads 'I am not wearing any underwear.' "These are Hong Kong people who are pro-Beijing," Wun speculated of the users sharing the picture.

Another young female protester, Ka Yau Ho, said a photograph shared online of her being detained by the police during a rally was altered so it appeared her nipples were showing.

Celebrity Hong Kong singer turned activist Denise Ho said on Facebook the aim of the online attacks against her was to "ignore her will, ignore her vision, focus on her exterior and dress, and then demonise."
"The insults that were towards me they were a really weird combination of nasty nationalism, sexism, and racism," she said. "I felt physically sick."