Rosalynd Southern is a Senior Lecturer in Political Communication at the University of Liverpool. Her work focuses on how digital and social media are used for political communication, with expertise in uncivil and intolerant online speech – particularly that directed at women politicians. She is currently co-director of the DigiPol Centre for Digital Politics, Media and Democracy. Emily Harmer is a Senior Lecturer in Media at the University of Liverpool. She has published extensively about legacy and online news media coverage of UK elections and the online othering and harassment of women in public life. She has published in leading journals such as Social Science Computer Review and Political Communication.

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• 1. Introduction2. Women Politicians and Digital Media3. Alternative Online Political Media4. Satire, Memes and Online Political Humour5. Controlling Their Narrative? Social Media, Image Curation and the ‘Double Bind’ of Motherhood in Office6. Different Platforms, Different Experiences: Social Media as a ‘Safe Space’ for Women Politicians?7. Women Politicians and Online Abuse: Experiences and Effects8. Conclusions