Unfortunately but perhaps unsurprisingly, it would seem Facebook is the go-to social media platform for anti-transgender content. A recent survey from Media Matters for America found that transphobic Facebook content shared by right-wing news sources generated more engagement on the platform than neutral and pro-trans sources combined, NBC News reported.
The study of 225 viral social media posts found that 66 percent of interactions with those posts came from far-right sources like LifeSiteNews, Daily Wire and Daily Caller, outlets known to promote vocally anti-trans views. According to the study, seven of the top 10 sources for interactions on trans Facebook content represented right-wing, anti-trans outlets. Just three LGBTQ+ sources, PinkNews, Gay Star News and NBC Out, made the top 10.
“Facebook users are getting a totally biased and factually inaccurate understanding of the multitude of issues that impact trans people,” said Brennan Suen, Media Matters’ LGBTQ program director and one of the study’s authors. This is particularly troubling given the considerable extent to which Americans depend on Facebook as a news source, Suen noted, pointing to an October poll revealing a majority of Americans get news from Facebook.
Unfortunately, according to trans activist and writer Raquel Willis, these findings aren’t surprising, as discourse concerning trans rights tends to be dominated by those that are against them.
“Narratives that further our demonization, that further confusion, are still the ones that often carry the most weight in our society,” Willis said. “Blood is on the hands of the Mark Zuckerbergs and the people who don’t want to hold these platforms to a humane standard.”
Suen added that anti-trans content contributes to a dangerous culture that puts trans individuals, including children, at risk of discrimination, harassment and rejection. These consequences can also be deadly. Earlier this month, Human Rights Campaign reported that 21 trans people have been murdered in the US in 2020, quickly outpacing 2019’s year-end total of 27.
“Actual lives of marginalized people are at stake,” said Willis.
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