20,000 Instagram fans

How an unfluencer is taking action against hate

Sanda Gutic is a cover girl for many magazines and works as an influencer.(Bild: Sanda Gutic)

Hate on the internet is getting worse. Many women have experienced verbal abuse, harassment, online stalking or even threats of violence and death on social media. Sanda Gutic has been an influencer for 15 years, the former Miss Bosnia now lives in Carinthia, has 19,900 followers - and a recipe against hate.

The cover girl of many magazines was born in Tyrol, but has long lived on the idyllic Keutschacher See in Carinthia. Sanda likes to travel the world and searches for new followers every day with posts from her everyday life. "I was Miss Bosnia in 2013 and then took part in the Miss World competition in Indonesia," says Sanda.

"I have Croatian roots." Gutic knows the hate on the internet well. Social media mores are harsh in the former Eastern Bloc. There is huge criticism of Instagram, for example, because although the medium rejects hatred, misogyny, homophobia and racism, it does nothing to combat abuse.

Sanda Gutic enjoys traveling around the world.(Bild: Sanda Gutic)

Gutic knows that there is a lot of hate on the internet.(Bild: Sanda Gutic)

"I only receive positive reactions."(Bild: Sanda Gutic)

"It's up to you how you react to it," says Sanda. "There are so many positive responses from users, only a few negative ones. I only take note of the positive. I always imagine: What would happen if 100,000 followers weren't following you on social media, but were standing right in front of you."

"Would they spread pure hatred in the same way? Hardly. That makes the situation better." Most of the hate speech on the internet is directed at women, but Jewish people are also affected. "We women have fought for so much together with men. The positive perception always wins," says Sanda.

Sanda searches for followers every day.(Bild: Sanda Gutic)

"I like World Women's Day, I'm sure I'll post my own post on March 8. The perfect messages from influencers are no longer accepted by users like they used to be because they're not real."

"No matter what job you have - we are all normal people. There are good days and bad days. All people have feelings. Women have fought for many rights in many countries. I support them," says Gutic. "Authenticity is very important. If you are authentic, you will also be perceived very differently on social media. Slander must bounce off you. Content that is good for us defeats hate."