Online images significantly amplify gender bias compared to text, both in prevalence and psychological impact. The study analyzed 3,495 social categories across over a million images from Google, Wikipedia, and IMDb, and billions of words from these platforms. It found that gender bias is more prevalent in images than in text, with women being underrepresented in images compared to text, public opinion, and US census data. A preregistered experiment showed that searching for images of occupations rather than textual descriptions amplified gender bias in participants' beliefs. Images are more memorable and emotionally evocative than text, and they directly transmit demographic cues, reinforcing gender associations. The study also found that images amplify both explicit and implicit gender bias, with participants who viewed images showing stronger bias in their beliefs and implicit associations. The rise of images in online communication may exacerbate gender bias by magnifying its digital presence and deepening its psychological impact. The study highlights the need for addressing the societal effects of this shift towards visual communication to build a fair and inclusive internet.Online images significantly amplify gender bias compared to text, both in prevalence and psychological impact. The study analyzed 3,495 social categories across over a million images from Google, Wikipedia, and IMDb, and billions of words from these platforms. It found that gender bias is more prevalent in images than in text, with women being underrepresented in images compared to text, public opinion, and US census data. A preregistered experiment showed that searching for images of occupations rather than textual descriptions amplified gender bias in participants' beliefs. Images are more memorable and emotionally evocative than text, and they directly transmit demographic cues, reinforcing gender associations. The study also found that images amplify both explicit and implicit gender bias, with participants who viewed images showing stronger bias in their beliefs and implicit associations. The rise of images in online communication may exacerbate gender bias by magnifying its digital presence and deepening its psychological impact. The study highlights the need for addressing the societal effects of this shift towards visual communication to build a fair and inclusive internet.