– Opposition to sexual and reproductive health and rights is part of a broader political project seeking to undermine public health, climate policy and international cooperation, says Lynda Gilby, a doctoral researcher in public health.
Gilby was a guest on the Right Rising podcast by the Far Right Analysis Network, where she discussed the international connections of right-wing populist and anti-gender networks. In the episode, Gilby explains how opposition to sexual and reproductive rights is linked to broader political projects in Europe and the United States, and how these networks seek to influence decision-making at the EU level.
Lynda Gilby works at Tampere University in the Transnational Flows project. The project examines the cross-border networks, funding channels and ideological influences of the far right, as well as how ideas, strategies and political campaigns travel between the United States and Europe.
– A key question is how nationalist right-wing populists build international cooperation even as they rhetorically oppose globalisation and multilateral institutions.
“Gender ideology” as strategic framing
For right-wing populist networks, “gender ideology” is a central concept. Under this label, they group together support for the rights of sexual and gender minorities, feminism and gender-neutral education. The term was originally developed within the Catholic Church but has since spread widely in right-wing populist rhetoric.
– Gender ideology is a strategic framing device. It shifts sexual and reproductive health and rights out of the realm of evidence-based health policy and reframes them as a moral or cultural controversy, Gilby says.
– Gender ideology is a strategic framing device. It shifts sexual and reproductive health and rights out of the realm of evidence-based health policy and reframes them as a moral or cultural controversy, Gilby says.
These rights are referred to as Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR). They were internationally agreed by consensus in 1994 and include access to contraception, maternal healthcare, sexuality education and legal, safe abortion.
– When this language is described as ‘controversial’ or ‘ambiguous’, previously established legal commitments are reopened as objects of political struggle, Gilby notes.
The same networks, different issues
According to Gilby, the same actors and funding networks that have long opposed gender equality and SRHR rights have also mobilised against vaccines and climate science.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, this network framed public health authorities and experts such as Anthony Fauci, as well as institutions like the World Health Organization, as “global elites” threatening national sovereignty and individual freedom. Vaccine opposition was presented as a matter of bodily autonomy.
Gilby argues that this is not merely reactive elite criticism or isolated value conflicts, but part of a broader counter-knowledge infrastructure. Expertise is undermined by questioning it across multiple policy sectors simultaneously.
– This infrastructure is also visible in parts of the wellness movement, where individual empowerment is combined with deep suspicion towards medical research and public health institutions. Social media platforms provide fertile ground for the rapid spread of anti-vaccine narratives and other health-related claims, Gilby says.
The consequences are tangible: declining vaccination coverage, increased hesitancy and weakened readiness for coordinated public health responses.
Transnational communication driven by emotion and social media
There are close transatlantic connections between US conservative think tanks and European organisations.
Civil society actors do not operate solely at the grassroots level; they draft model legislation, train policymakers and seek to shape EU-level regulatory language, for example in the European Parliament. Some organisations receive funding from the United States and engage in systematic lobbying of EU institutions.
Gilby emphasises that these actors have been highly effective in emotionally charged communication. Abortion and feminism are framed as moral threats that quickly mobilise supporters.
– At the same time, defenders of health policy often speak about complex medical complications, healthcare systems and administrative structures. These are harder to communicate and rarely provoke equally strong reactions, she says.
An international study on social media algorithms suggests that political content on platforms is strongly skewed and increasingly polarized. According to research compiled by the Finnish Innovation Fund Sitra, as much as 67 percent of the political content encountered by young people in Finland on social media can be classified as right-leaning. At the same time, algorithms tend to prioritize provocative and emotionally charged posts, which can intensify debate and reinforce political polarization.
The study also connects to wider European concerns about the democratic impact of platform algorithms. Social media is already one of the main sources of political information for young Europeans, making the structure of algorithmic recommendation systems increasingly significant for civic debate and political socialisation.
Right-wing populist politics often relies on a narrative that pits “the people” against elites and experts. Social media algorithms may amplify such rhetoric because they reward precisely the kinds of sharp, emotionally engaging political messages that spread easily online.
Right-wing populist politics often relies on a narrative that pits “the people” against elites and experts. Social media algorithms may amplify such rhetoric because they reward precisely the kinds of sharp, emotionally engaging political messages that spread easily online.
The Sitra study is part of a broader international debate about how social media algorithms shape political discourse and democratic participation. The research examined the feeds of simulated young users aged 18–24 in three European countries – Finland, France and Romania – on platforms such as Instagram, TikTok and X. The results suggest that the political content encountered by young users is often sensational, opinion-based and difficult to verify, and that a clear majority of it leans to the political right.
Gilby calls for closer cooperation between researchers, activists and policymakers, and for a more precise understanding of how political framing works.
– When expert knowledge is no longer seen as trustworthy and multilateral institutions are portrayed as threats to national sovereignty, collective responses to pandemics, the climate crisis or health inequalities are weakened. Evidence-based global health then becomes a permanent arena of ideological struggle.
Transnational Policy transfer in practice: American anti-vaxxers in Europe
Last October, the “Make Europe Healthy Again” (MEHA) initiative was launched in the European Parliament. The event was attended by leading figures from the “Make America Healthy Again” movement, along with members of its steering committee and international advisory board. For Gilby, this is a clear example of policy ideas moving from one country to another.
– The event also included far-right politicians, anti-vaccine activists and representatives of alternative medicine. Speakers once again criticised “unelected globalist institutions” such as the World Health Organization — illustrating how recurring themes circulate across contexts, Gilby says.
According to Gilby MEHA’s founder and chair is an anti-vaccine campaigner who advocates stricter immigration policies and opposes the World Health Organization. Several members of its steering committee and advisory board have spread misinformation about vaccines and the COVID-19 pandemic.
At the transnational level, a dense network connects far-right parties, conservative governments and allied organisations that exchange strategies. One tactic is to build relationships with Members of the European Parliament who share similar views in order to influence EU language on SRHR directly. Some anti-gender organisations receive funding from the United States and Russia and engage in systematic lobbying of EU institutions.
There has also been a legitimising effect across borders. Hungary introduced a fetal heartbeat requirement for abortion seekers to listen to fetal heartbeat before an abortion shortly after the overturning of Roe v. Wade in the United States.
– Strategies also include drafting alternative resolutions and agreements to delay negotiations. Poland, for example, sought to encourage countries to withdraw from the Istanbul Convention and considered joining a conservative “Convention on the Rights of the Family” drafted by a right-wing organisation, Gilby says.
– Strategies also include drafting alternative resolutions and agreements to delay negotiations. Poland, for example, sought to encourage countries to withdraw from the Istanbul Convention and considered joining a conservative “Convention on the Rights of the Family” drafted by a right-wing organisation, Gilby says.
Together, these developments show that what appears as national politics is often part of a coordinated transnational effort — one that seeks to reshape not only gender and health policy, but the broader foundations of evidence-based governance.
ChatGPT was used when drafting the translation.
