PHUMZILE VAN DAMME

Phumzile Van Damme is a counter-disinformation, platform accountability, and digital rights specialist. An activist on these subjects, she serves on the boards and advisory councils of the Real Facebook Oversight Board, #ShePersisted, and the Global Partnership for Action on Gender-Based Online Harassment and Abuse.

Van Damme is also a 2023/24 Human Rights and Technology Fellow at Harvard University’s Carr Centre. She has spoken on various platforms about disinformation, including at the UNDP, the UN Commission on the Status of Women, Cambridge University and Stanford University. As a former Member of Parliament in South Africa, she is passionate about bolstering legislative and regulatory measures as a bulwark against online harms. She was awarded the 2022 Vital Voices Global Leaders award for her work against online harm and is dedicated to making the Internet kinder, safer, and inclusive for all marginalized groups.