Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham ClintonBloomberg rolls out M ad buy to boost Biden in Florida Hillicon Valley: Productivity, fatigue, cybersecurity emerge as top concerns amid pandemic | Facebook critics launch alternative oversight board | Google to temporarily bar election ads after polls close Trump pledges to make Juneteenth a federal holiday, designate KKK a terrorist group in pitch to Black voters MORE on Wednesday described a toxic environment faced by female politicians while speaking in London.

Clinton said at King's College that she spoke to female friends who are current and former members of the British Parliament who described "a growing anxiety among women members about the threats that they face."

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"If people are intimidated out of running for office in a democracy because of these hatemongers on the left or the right, motivated by whatever, that's the path of authoritarianism, that's the path of fascism — when you are told you are in danger or your family is," Clinton said. "A number of these women have said it's not just threats against themselves but threats against their children."

In the discussion, the former 2016 Democratic presidential nominee also criticized Facebook for the social media giant's recent decision to not fact-check political advertisements.

"It's a deeply irresponsible decision and it is one that will make it increasingly difficult for people running for office to persuade voters to vote for them based on accurate information as opposed to falsified information," Clinton said.