By Nicolas Boyon |PARIS, France – A new global poll released by French international multinational market research and consulting firm, Institut Public de Sondage d’Opinion Secteur, (Ipsos SA) in its LGBTQ+ Pride 2023 survey finds that an average of 9% of adults in 30 countries identify as LGBTQ+, with sharp generational differences. Other findings include:

• Increased LGBT+ visibility since the 2021 survey with large geographic variations remaining;
• Majority support in most (but not all) countries surveyed for allowing same-sex couples to marry and to adopt children; and
• Widespread support for protecting transgender people from employment and housing discrimination, but divided views on other pro-transgender measures.

The survey was conducted by Ipsos on its Global Advisor online platform in February and March 2023 among more than 22,500 adults under the age of 75.  

On average, across the 30 countries surveyed, 3% of adults identify as lesbian or gay, 4% as bisexual, 1% as pansexual or omnisexual, and 1% as asexual.

Gen Zers are about twice as likely as Millennials and four times as likely as Gen Xers and Boomers to identify as bisexual, pansexual/ omnisexual, or asexual.

Sexual orientation by gender and generation

Source: Ipsos Global Advisor | LGBTQ+ Pride 2023

Men are more likely than women to identify as gay/lesbian/homosexual (4% vs. 1% on average globally), but both are equally likely to identify as bisexual, pansexual/omnisexual, or asexual.

Spain is where respondents are most likely to say they are gay or lesbian (6%) while Brazil and the Netherlands are where they are most likely to say they are bisexual (both 7%). Japan is the country they are least likely to identify as either gay or lesbian (less than 1%) and as bisexual (1%).

When asked about their gender identity, 1% on average globally describe themselves as transgender, 1% as non-binary, gender non-conforming, or gender fluid, and 1% as neither, but differently from male or female. There are also large differences between younger and older adults when it comes to their propensity to describe themselves as any of these. This is the case of 6% of Gen Zers and 3% of Millennials, compared to 1% of both GenXers and Boomers. And the gap is growing: +2 percentage points since 2021 among both Gen Zers and Millennials vs. +1 point or less among Gen Xers and Boomers.

Overall, the average share of the self-identified LGBT+ population^[1] is 9%. The share of self-identified LGBT+ adults varies widely across generations and geographies: from a 30-country average of 18% among Gen Zers to 4% among Baby Boomers, and from 15% of all respondents in Brazil to 4% in Peru.

LGBTQ+ visibility is up, but still differs widely across countries

The visibility of LGBTQ+ people has increased since the previous LGBTQ+ Pride survey, two years ago. On average, across the 30 countries surveyed this year:

• 47% of all adults say they have a relative, friend, or work colleague who is a lesbian/gay/ homosexual, up 5 points since 2021;
• 26% say they know someone who is bisexual, up 2 points;  
• 13% say they know someone who is transgender, up 3 points; and
• 12% say they know someone who is non-binary, gender non-conforming, or gender fluid, up 3 points.

LGBTQ+ visibility varies widely across countries. Having a relative, friend, or work colleague who is lesbian/gay or bisexual is most commonly reported in Latin America, Spain, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. Gender diversity is most visible throughout the Anglosphere, in Brazil, and especially in Thailand.

On the other hand, the visibility of different segments of the LGBTQ+ community is lowest in Japan, South Korea, Turkey, Romania, Hungary, and Poland.

Women are more likely than men to report knowing people of different sexual orientations and gender identities. Consistent with self-identification, the prevalence of knowing someone who is LGBTQ+ is much higher among younger adults than among older adults. Generational differences are particularly pronounced when it comes to knowing people who are bisexual and people who are non-binary/ gender non-conforming or fluid: in both cases, Gen Zers are twice as likely as Gen Xers, and three times as likely as Boomers, to say they do.

Majorities support same-sex marriage and parenting in most, but not all countries

On average, across the 30 countries surveyed, 56% say same-sex couples should be allowed to marry legally while 16% say they should be allowed to obtain some legal recognition, but not to marry and just 14% say they should not be allowed to marry or get any kind of legal recognition. Another 14% are not sure.

Support for same-sex marriage ranges from 49% to 80% in all 20 countries surveyed where it is legal. Among the other 10 countries, majorities in Italy and Thailand support same-sex marriage and majorities in all other countries except Turkey support at least some form of legal recognition for same-sex couples. Opponents of any form of legal recognition for same-sex couples make up no more than one-third of all respondents in any of the countries surveyed.

Women are significantly more likely than men to support same-sex marriage with a difference between both of 10 percentage points on average globally.

In 2021, support for same-sex marriage was significantly higher in 13 of the 15 countries where Ipsos began tracking it in 2013. However, it has plateaued or declined in many countries over the past two years. Of the 23 countries Ipsos surveyed both in 2021 and this year, nine show a decline of 4 points or more in the percentage saying same-sex couples should be allowed to marry legally (Canada, Germany, the United States, Mexico, the Netherlands, Sweden, Great Britain, Brazil, and Turkey), while only two show an increase of 4 points or more (France and Peru).

While views on same-sex parenting are warmer than those on same-sex marriage, they show similar patterns. Globally, 65% say same-sex couples are just as likely as other parents to raise children successfully and 64% say they should have the same rights to adopt children as heterosexual couples do. These views are held by majorities in 26 countries, including several where same-sex couples are not allowed to adopt. The only countries where more people disagree than agree with both opinions are Poland, Turkey, Romania, and South Korea.

Again, women are more supportive of same-sex parenting than are men (by an average of about 10 points) as are younger adults vs. older adults.

Over the past two years, support for same-sex adoption has declined significantly in Sweden, the U.S., Canada, the Netherlands, and Turkey, but it has increased significantly in France, Italy, Colombia, and Peru.

Support for protection from employment and housing discrimination is broader than for other pro-transgender measures

Globally, 67% say that transgender people face at least a fair amount of discrimination, compared with 19% who say they face little or no discrimination. Perceptions of discrimination are highest in Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking countries, and lowest in Switzerland, Germany, and Japan.

Majorities in each of the 30 countries surveyed (76% on average) agree that transgender people should be protected from discrimination in employment, housing, and access to businesses such as restaurants and stores.

Other measures receive more lukewarm support: on average, 60% agree that transgender teenagers should be allowed to receive gender-affirming care with parental consent; 55% agree that transgender people should be allowed to use single-sex facilities (e.g., public restrooms that correspond to their gender); 53% agree that government-issued documents such as passports should have options other than “male” and “female” for people who do not identify as either; and 47% agree that health insurance systems should cover the costs of gender transition no differently than the costs of other medical procedures.

Among the 30 countries surveyed, support for various pro-transgender measures is consistently high in Thailand, Italy, Spain, and throughout Latin America; it tends to be lowest in South Korea, throughout Eastern Europe, in Great Britain, and in the United States where transgender rights and protections have become polarizing political issues.

Women and younger adults are more likely than men and older adults, respectively, to say the transgender community faces a lot of discrimination. They also show higher levels of support for all types of measures in favor of transgender people differences of about 6 to 9 points between women and men and between Gen Zers and Boomers. Partly driving this generational gap, Gen Xers and Boomers are more likely than younger adults to have no opinion about specific transgender issues or about the amount of discrimination transgender people face, possibly because they are less likely to know a transgender person.  

About the study 

These are the results of a 30-country survey conducted by Ipsos on its Global Advisor online survey platform between February 17 and March 3, 2023. For this survey, Ipsos interviewed a total of 22,514 adults aged 18-74 in Canada, South Africa, Turkey, and the United States, 20-74 in Thailand, 21-74 in Singapore, and 16-74 in all other countries

The preceding article was previously published by Institut Public de Sondage d'Opinion Secteur, (Ipsos SA) and is republished with permission.

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Related:

By Tyler Monroe | WASHINGTON – Over the past week, we’ve seen right-wing media’s backlash against Target’s LGBTQ Pride displays as part of a recent crusade against corporate Pride Month campaigns. And Target ultimately decided to pull some merchandise celebrating Pride from store shelves after receiving threats against the safety of their workers.

But Fox News was one of many right-wing media outlets that feigned outrage, spending over 2 hours of coverage of the Target controversy from May 23 through 9 a.m. ET on May 30. 

And much of Fox’s extensive coverage of the Target boycott included expressions of outrage that children were exposed to clothing with positive messages about the LGBT community.

But as a comparison number, Fox reported for just 22 seconds during the same timeframe on the Illinois attorney general’s recent report that Catholic Church clergy members and lay religious brothers had abused nearly 2,000 children in the state since 1950.

Fox News aired more than 2 hours of coverage of the backlash to Target’s Pride Month displays, while running less than a minute of coverage on a new report detailing sex abuse in the Catholic Church in Illinois. Fox added to the right-wing media backlash against Target’s LGBTQ Pride displays as part of a recent crusade against corporate Pride Month campaigns. The company decided to pull some merchandise celebrating Pride Month from store shelves after receiving threats against the safety of its workers.

From May 23 through 9 a.m. ET May 30, Fox aired over 2 hours and 12 minutes of coverage of the Target controversy. In comparison, Fox reported for just 22 seconds on the Illinois attorney general’s recent report that Catholic Church clergy members and lay religious brothers had abused nearly 2,000 children in the state since 1950.

Much of Fox’s extensive coverage of the Target boycott included expressions of outrage that children were exposed to clothing with positive messages about the LGBTQ community. While Fox repeatedly fearmongered about this supposed threat to children, the network almost completely ignored the reports of sexual abuse in the Illinois Catholic Church, airing only one segment on the attorney general’s report. 

Target is just the latest brand Fox has taken aim at in its anti-LGBTQ coverage, adding to attacks on Bud Light for its Dylan Mulvaney promotional content and Disney, which the network falsely accused of grooming and sexualizing children. The repeated targeting of pro-LGBTQ products and sentiments, thinly veiled as defenses of children’s innocence, fit into Fox and right-wing media’s larger homophobic campaign to conflate the LGBTQ community with grooming and child abuse.

Methodology

Media Matters searched transcripts in the SnapStream video database for all original programming on Fox News Channel for any of the terms “Target,” “clothing,” “merchandise,” or “display” within close proximity to any of the terms “trans,” “transgender,” “pride,” or “gay” or any variation of the term “LGBTQIA+” from May 23, 2023, when media first reported on Target patrons’ backlash against LBGTQ merchandise, through 9 a.m. ET May 30. 

We also searched transcripts in the SnapStream video database for all original programming on Fox News Channel for any of the terms “Catholic,” “church,” “Illinois,” or “brother” or any variation of the term “clergy” within close proximity to any variation of any of the terms “child,” “sex,” “abuse,” or “allegation” from May 23, when a report was released alleging that 450 clergy in the Illinois Catholic Church sexually abused almost 2,000 children since 1950, through 9 a.m. ET May 30. 

We timed segments, which we defined as instances when either the anti-LGBTQ backlash at Target stores or the report regarding child sex abuse by the Illinois Catholic Church was the stated topic of discussion or when we found significant discussion of either story. We defined significant discussion as instances when two or more speakers in a multitopic segment discussed either story with one another.

We also timed mentions, which we defined as instances when a single speaker in a segment on another topic mentioned either story without another speaker in the segment engaging with the comment, and teasers, which we defined as instances when the anchor or host promotes a segment about either story scheduled to air later in the broadcast.

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The preceding article was previously published by Media Matters for America and is republished with permission.

 By Jack Winstanley & Charis Hoard WASHINGTON – As major consumer brands continue to partner with members of the LGBTQ+ community, release Pride Month products, and carry out Pride campaigns, right-wing figures are responding with an escalating anti-LGBTQ+ crusade that aims to make inclusive branding a “market death wish.”

Currently, right-wing figures are celebrating Target’s decision to remove some of its Pride Month merchandise after a month-long campaign saw anti-LGBTQ activists harass and threaten store employees, with some figures even endorsing violence and acts of vandalism against the retailer. On May 25, disgraced CPAC Chair Matt Schlapp sent a letter to Target’s CEO & Board of Directors calling for an end to their partnership with a designer of the Pride collection who Schlapp claims is a “self-declared ‘satanist’” and “openly flaunts his anti-Christian agenda.”

Calling for boycotts is not a new tactic for right-wing activists. Former President Donald Trump and his allies attempted to organize a boycott against Major League Baseball after the 2021 All-Star Game was removed from Atlanta in protest of the state’s restrictive voting laws. Right-wing figures also attempted to start a boycott of the country band The Dixie Chicks (now known as The Chicks) in 2003 over their public opposition to the Iraq War.The right-wing attacks against Bud Light for their collaboration with trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney has ignited current frenzies to boycott companies seeking to be more inclusive.

While acknowledging that they “can’t boycott every woke company or even most of them,” right-wing figures have created a playbook for future boycotts that aims to make Pride messaging “culturally toxic” and make all companies fearful of eliciting similar responses to inclusive campaigns. Some figures have been encouraging their followers to pick their targets, and have only been increasing calls for boycotts and violence as Pride Month approaches. Some have even attempted to cash-in on the outrage, peddling products mocking companies that have expressed their support for the LGBTQ+ community.

Below is a timeline of the right’s biggest pressure campaigns from the last year:

Key Events

State Farm (May 2022): In May 2022, a right-wing consumer advocacy group released emails showing State Farm’s participation with a non-profit organization that provides trans-inclusive books to schools in Florida. 

The violently anti-trans social media outlet Libs of TikTok amplified the campaign against State Farm, and the conservative outlet The Washington Examiner accused State Farm of “encouraging its agents in Florida to donate books promoting transgenderism to 5-year-olds.”Following the backlash, a spokesperson from State Farm confirmed to the Washington Post that the company had ended its partnership and would explore new ways to pursue diversity and inclusion.

M&M’s (2022 – January 2023): In early 2023, M&M came under fire from right-wing media for making changes to their “spokescandies” with the intent to make the mascots more inclusive.

Former Fox host Tucker Carlson took to his show to criticize the changes made to the mascots, and other Fox hosts followed suit, calling the changes made “virtue signaling gone wrong.” Carlson famously had an on-air meltdown over the changes to the mascots, slamming them for being “less sexy,” and America First Policy Institute ambassador Nick Adams berated the changes as a “nuclear strike in the war on men.”

In late January 2023, M&M announced that their mascots will be taking an “indefinite pause” and replaced by actor Maya Rudolph. The “indefinite pause” ended in February 2023, when the mascots were brought back after Rudolph’s appearance in M&M’s Super Bowl ad. 

LEGO (February – April 2023): The LEGO Group announced that it would create minifigures representing people with disabilities, different skin tones, and other diverse characteristics, including pivoting some existing product lines to feature characters with LGBTQ identities and mental health conditions.

Fox News and other right-wing outlets quickly criticized the toymaker for “going woke.” In April, a TikTok showing a man harassing a Lego Store employee for wearing a Pride flag pin went viral, with right-wing social media users sharing it widely.

Hershey’s (March 2023 – ongoing): To celebrate International Women’s Day in Canada, Hershey’s released an ad campaign including a trans woman. Right-wing social media users called for a boycott of Hershey, claiming that the company is “erasing women.” 

In response, Daily Wire co-founder Jeremy Boreing launched his own chocolate company featuring branding that mocked Hershey’s attempts to incorporate pronouns into its packaging. Boreing’s chocolate brand was criticized for its ineffective packaging and inflated pricing.

Bud Light (April 2023 – ongoing): Transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney shared a sponsored post with Bud Light, resulting in an intense boycott campaign against Bud Light and other Anheuser-Busch products.

Some right-wing figures, including singer Kid Rock, posted videos of themselves destroying cans of Bud Light in protest. Right-wing media fixated on the outrage, with figures using the ad campaign as an excuse to launch bigoted attacks against Mulvaney and Bud Light for partnering with her.

Some even took the chance to peddle their own products as alternatives to Bud Light. Anheuser-Busch responded to the backlash by claiming that the company “never intended to be part of a discussion that divides people,” and dismissing two high-level marketing directors.

Nike (April 2023 – ongoing): Mulvaney also unveiled a partnership with Nike, with Mulvaney posting a video on Instagram advertising the brand’s leggings and sports bras. Right-wing commentators and social media figures, including former Olympic athletes Sharron Davies and Caitlyn Jenner, condemned the partnership. Soon after, a “burn bra challenge” started on TikTok in protest. 

Nike responded to the hate directed at Mulvaney through an Instagram comment, which read in part: “Be kind. Be inclusive. Encourage each other.”

Jack Daniel’s (April 2023 – ongoing): In early April, right-wing social media users dug up two-year-old Pride Month advertisements for Jack Daniel’s whiskey that featured contestants from RuPaul’s Drag Race, claiming that the distiller had “gone woke.”

Soon after, a video went viral of a man setting alite hundreds of dollars worth of Jack Daniel’s whiskey and merchandise in a belated protest of the 2021 ad campaign. A spokesperson stated to PinkNews that “Jack Daniel’s is made with everyone in mind, including the LGBTQ+ community.”

Sports Illustrated (May 2023 – ongoing): Sports Illustrated unveiled that transgender singer Kim Petras would be on one of the four covers of this year’s Swimsuit Edition, sparking backlash from right-wing commentators.

Right-wing backlash divulged into transphobic attacks, even going so far as to say that Petras, who received permission for gender confirmation surgery at age 16, is aiding in the promotion of “the trans agenda” and “the idea that, yes, children can consent to being permanently mutilated and, yes, sterilized.”

Los Angeles Dodgers (May 2023 – ongoing): The Los Angeles Dodgers announced that the team would be removing the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence after the club received backlash from right-wing figures for including the group in its annual Pride Night celebration.

The Sisters have been active in raising money for HIV/AIDS awareness and treatment in Southern California since the 1970s and have made religious-themed drag outfits a hallmark of their charity organization.

Right-wing figures had labeled the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence a “hate group” over their use of Christian imagery and criticized the Dodgers for inviting them, claiming the Pride Night event was hostile to Christians.

Later, the Dodgers rescinded their previous statement and reinvited the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence to the Pride Night celebration. Right-wing responses to the Sisters’ reinstatement have been rife with calls to violence; BlazeTV host Steve Deace called for a “fatwa” against the team “that would draw blood,” and Infowars host Owen Shroyer encouraged his audience to join “conservatives” at Pride Night, sardonically questioning, “I wonder how that’s going to go.”

Adidas (May 2023 – ongoing): Sportswear brand Adidas released its Pride Month campaign featuring a male-presenting model wearing the brand’s “Pride Swimsuit,” and immediately faced transphobic attacks from right-wing media.

The backlash from conservative figures included insulting the model for having a noticeable genital bulge and claiming that the campaign “erases women” by not labeling the campaign as unisex.

Target (May 2023 – ongoing): As Target’s annual Pride Month merchandise line gradually hit stores in the first half of May, right-wing social media users began posting calls for boycotts over the product line.

Prominent right-wing commentators attacked the retailer, claiming that anyone shopping at Target was a pervert, endorsing vandalism against Pride displays, or stating that Target was “perverting our children and grooming them.” Target announced that it would remove part of its Pride collection from stores following harassment and threats against employees and instances of vandalism against in-store pride displays.

Walmart (May 2023 – ongoing): Walmart is reportedly being targeted by a number of right-wing social media users over its Pride collection after their apparent success against Target.

The North Face (May 2023 – ongoing): In May 2023, The North Face announced its second Summer of Pride campaign coinciding with the release of its Pride collection, with advertisements featuring drag queen Pattie Gonia. In response, right-wing media began their typical attacks, saying that The North Face had the goal of “making fun of women” by featuring a drag queen in its campaign, and claiming that the company has “gone trans.”

From the March 25, 2023, edition of The Daily Wire’s The Micheal Knowles Show:

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The preceding article was previously published by Media Matters For America and is republished with permission.

By  Justin Horowitz | WASHINGTON – “We can do whatever the fuck we want,” streamer Adin Ross tells his followers about the new streaming platform Kick. “There’s no terms of service over there. You guys can say whatever you want in my chat.” 

Ross is the most high-profile streamer to join Kick, a new Twitch rival streaming platform that is gaining attention for its relaxed content moderation policies and creator-friendly revenue split, and his style demonstrates how little Kick follows its own content moderation rules.

Some gamers, streamers, and influencers are bringing their audiences of young, impressionable viewers over to Kick, which has become a safe haven for hate speech and extremism.

A number of streamers have enormous and devoted followings across social media, and the lucrative industry is constantly evolving. Teens and young adults in particular have a fondness for watching livestreamers.

What’s found on Kick?

Kick, which is still in beta-testing and has recently signed other big-name personalities and streamers, features white nationalist and extremist-linked content creators, hate speech, and pornographic content. Some of the content creators are connected to notorious white nationalist and Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes and his streaming website, Cozy.tv (a Kick representative once refused to comment on whether Fuentes is welcome on the platform). 

Here is a breakdown of extremist-linked creators and content found on Kick:

Fuentes associates and Cozy.tv extremist streamers Tyler Russell, “Beardson Beardly” (real name Matt Evans), and “Woozuh” (real name Jared Noble) all have profiles on Kick and promote Cozy.tv. Content creator “ChiefTrumpster” also streams on Kick and has Cozy.tv links on his streams. 

Fascist commentator and Fuentes associate Dalton Clodfelter streams on Kick. Clodfelter has repeatedly posted about Kick on his Telegram account and promotes Cozy.tv on his profile.

There are numerous profiles on Kick with antisemitic, racist, or anti-LGBTQ handles. There are also a handful of “groyper” profiles, a term associated with Fuentes’ followers.

• Right-wing political operative and extremist-linked figure Roger Stone streams on Kick. 
• White nationalist Vincent James Foxx has a profile on Kick and has promoted it on Telegram. 
• Anti-LGBTQ bigot Bryson Gray also streams on the platform. 
• Misogynistic “manosphere” influencer and Fuentes associate Sneako (real name Nico Kenn De Balinthazy) appears to have a profile on the platform. De Balinthazy has previously made antisemitic comments. He was recently pictured with former President Donald Trump. 
• The platform is reportedly saturated with pornographic content. Recently, a popular streamer reportedly received a one-day ban on Kick for after receiving oral sex while live on the platform. 

On Twitter, streamer Trainwreck (real name Tyler Niknam), who is a co-founder and representative for Kick, teased the idea that more big name influencers are signing deals with the platform. Additionally, MrBeast, one of the most popular content creators in the world, has interacted with Kick’s official Twitter account, spurring speculation online about the celebrity joining forces with the website. 

The website is reportedly backed by Eddie Craven, a co-founder of crypto-gambling website Stake. Twitch has cracked down on gambling on its platform and Kick prohibits gambling “with other users” in its community guidelines, but has a streaming section devoted to it. It’s unclear what gambling Kick does and does not allow on its website. 

The mobile Kick app is currently the eighth most popular app in Apple’s App Store photo and video category. The Kick app is likely to violate the App Store’s terms of service against “overtly sexual or pornographic material” and “defamatory, discriminatory, or mean-spirited content.” 

The app is also available in the Google Play store, which prohibits apps that promote sexual content and hate speech. 

Adin Ross is a case study in Kick’s disconcerting content moderation 

Ross’ antics on Kick offer a case study in how little the platform complies with its own content moderation policies. According to its community guidelines, Kick does not allow sexual content, content that encourages “threats or harassment,” or “hate speech that directly attacks a person or group on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, medical or mental condition, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender, or gender identity.”

Ross’ content appears to have violated the website’s community guidelines on multiple occasions. 

Ross was recently permanently banned from Twitch, where he had more than 7.2 million followers (he also has over 3.5 million subscribers on YouTube, 2.2 million Twitter followers, 5.7 million Instagram followers, and 6.4 million followers on TikTok). Following his ban, which he did not explain, the streamer began making anti-trans comments online and streaming exclusively on Kick. 

Here are a few instances of Ross’ buffoonery on Kick that likely violate the platform’s community guidelines: 

• Ross has hosted Fuentes on his Kick streams at least twice. In one instance, Ross asked Fuentes to discuss the “Day of Hate,” a call to action to “harass and target Jewish communities.” There was reportedly no violence.

"I just didn't like that one clip, you said that 'J*ws were the spawn of Satan'," Adin says.

Fuentes: "I don't think I said that."

"But I do believe that J*ws are doing the work of Satan." pic.twitter.com/F2ZFADtT09

— ostonox (@ostonox) March 17, 2023

Adin ends the conversation by offering to help in any way he can with Kanye's 2024 presidential campaign.

Adin asks if Kanye's reconsidered what he said about Hitler.

"I don't think he said anything people would disagree with." Fuentes says. pic.twitter.com/GirhJWrPfh

— ostonox (@ostonox) March 17, 2023

Ross hosted an anonymous man who was wearing a mask with a swastika and slurs on it and sitting in front of a Black Sun neo-Nazi flag. “I’m not trying to give you a platform,” Ross said, while giving him a platform.

Ross said that his pronouns are “kill/them” in an anti-trans reaction video.

“My pronouns are k*ll/them”

Adin Ross reacts to teacher giving lessons about non-binary pronouns pic.twitter.com/9xwboHX6Mw

— Dexerto (@Dexerto) March 30, 2023

• Ross streamed pornographic content to his viewers, some of whom are likely under 18 years old. Ross later apologized.

• Ross was reportedly banned from Twitch on February 24 for having his Kick comments section displayed to his viewers for 20 minutes, which included “racist and anti-semitic messages.”
• Ross reportedly attempted to get “self-proclaimed Nazi” GypsyCrusader (real name Paul Miller) on Kick and played a video of Miller dressed as Hitler saying the N-word.  
• Ross reportedly encouraged a fan to throw urine on a family member and joked about paying someone to slit a throat.

Adin Ross making a joke asking a fan of his to slit his younger brothers throat since he watches Hasan for 20k. Nice content moderation over on Kick. pic.twitter.com/zYBjn6VMyK

— classyjazzy (@classyjazzy555) March 2, 2023

Kick is reportedly working on rolling out “automatic moderation for streamers to counter racism and inappropriate language” on the platform, but it’s not clear when that feature will be released. And automated content moderation has limitations, as these tools need to be constantly updated and can have a difficult time understanding nuances and variations in human speech.

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The preceding article was previously published by Media Matters for America and is republished by permission.

WASHINGTON – A new national survey conducted by the Public Religion Research Institute revealed reassuring findings that Americans of almost all religions and no religion are growing ever more supportive of LGBTQ rights.

For instance, eight in 10 Americans (80 percent) in the Public Religion Research Institute survey support laws against discrimination in jobs, public accommodations and housing against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people.

Even 62 percent of white evangelical Protestants, tied with Hispanic Protestants, favor such nondiscrimination laws. Jehovah’s Witnesses were at the bottom of the barrel, yet half support nondiscrimination protections.

Interestingly, in states showing the lowest level of support for nondiscrimination (Alabama, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota), two-thirds of state citizens themselves are against such discrimination, showing that state legislatures are not keeping up with demographics. (Scroll to Figure 5 to see where your state falls on this issue.)

In what seems contradictory, given widespread disapproval of discrimination by places of public accommodation, Americans are slightly less supportive of LGBTQ rights when it comes to a business owner refusing to serve LGBTQ individuals.

This is a hot-button issue — with a case, 303 Creative, involving such discrimination by a website designer awaiting a ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court. Nevertheless, nearly two-thirds (65 percent) of Americans oppose permitting businesses to discriminate against LGBTQ customers on religious grounds.

Those most willing to discriminate are Mormons (only 46 percent oppose such discrimination) and white Protestants (only 37 percent support LGBTQ rights to service). The political parties are polarized over this question, with nearly nine-in-10 Democrats and about two-thirds of independents opposing religiously based refusals, but 57 percent of Republicans supporting them.

The 2015 Obergell v. Hodges Supreme Court decision legalizing same-sex marriage is threatened by the current extremist-majority Supreme Court, making the survey’s findings on marriage equality very timely. On this subject as well, the institute similarly found that overall, 68 percent of Americans support same-sex marriage. In fact, support for same-sex marriage is steadily increasing in the United States, up from 58 percent in 2016 to 69 percent today.

Once again, white evangelical Protestants are the odd ones out, with only about a third (38 percent) supporting marriage equality. Even so, support is growing among their ranks. In 2014, only a quarter of Mormons supported same-sex marriage, but today half do.

The survey found that Hispanic Protestants, white evangelical Protestants and Jehovah’s Witnesses show lowest support for marriage equality, with 43 percent, 38 percent and 19 percent respectively supporting it.

Meanwhile, the religiously unaffiliated show the greatest acceptance, with nine in 10 in favor of marriage equality. Support for same-sex marriage from white mainline Protestants and white Catholics has risen from about two-thirds to three-fourths.

Of note, while 10 percent of Americans identify as LGBTQ (3 percent gay or lesbian, 4 percent bisexual and 2 percent as something other), they are twice as likely as the general population to identify as religiously unaffiliated. The institute identifies 26 percent of the general population as unaffiliated, but 50 percent of LGBTQ are in that category. About two-in-10 non-Christians (including Unitarian Universalists, religiously unaffiliated, Buddhists, Jews, Muslims, Hindus and other non-Christians) identify as LGBTQ.

LGBTQ Americans are twice as likely to belong to Generation Z, with almost half of them under age 30. Although whites make up the majority of the LGBTQ community, LGBTQ individuals are less likely to be white than the population at large. And LGBTQ Americans are six times as likely to identify as Democrats than as Republicans.

The Public Religion Research Institute found that attitudes toward structural racism correlate closely with attitudes toward LGBTQ rights. “Americans who strongly favor protections for LGBTQ people score lower on the Structural Racism Index,” it says.

Similarly, Christian nationalism adherents are about five times as likely as Christian nationalism rejecters to support allowing religiously based service refusals. Americans who agree that in truly Christian households women must submit to a man’s leadership are (no surprise) about twice as likely to favor allowing religiously based service refusals as those who disagree with this idea (49 percent vs. 25 percent).

“These findings are extremely eye-opening in combating those religiously motivated state legislators, governors and members of Congress who are eager to take us back to the bad old days of closets and rampant homophobia,” says Annie Laurie Gaylor, FFRF co-president. “The religiously diverse American people have spoken — and huge majorities of us support LGBTQ rights.”

PRRI (Public Religion Research Institute) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to conducting independent research at the intersection of religion, culture, and public policy.

WASHINGTON – The Human Rights Campaign reported Wednesday that more than half of America’s transgender youth are facing or will soon face barriers to access guideline-directed gender affirming healthcare.

The organization’s finding comes as more than 10 states are on the verge of enacting healthcare bans for youth diagnosed with gender dysphoria, in some cases criminalizing physicians and parents for facilitating access to these healthcare interventions for young patients.

HRC’s press release announcing the data noted gender affirming care is supported by medical organizations with relevant scientific and clinical expertise, groups with a combined 1.3 million member physicians and whose guidelines on treatment for minors are backed by decades of research.

Eight states have now enacted laws banning gender affirming care (Ala., Ariz., Ark., Iowa, Miss., S.D., Tenn., and Utah), while three have passed bans (Ga., Ky., and W.Va.) and six have advanced bans through one of the two chambers of their respective legislatures (Idaho, Ind., Kan., Mont., N.D., and Okla.), according to HRC.

The organization noted that Florida effectuated a ban through its Board of Medicine while Texas passed a law last year that deputizes the state’s Department of Family and Protective Services “to investigate the provision or support of gender affirming care by parents, doctors, or others, as child abuse.”

“LGBTQ+ people are living in a state of emergency,” HRC Senior Vice President Jay Brown said in the press release. “Today’s findings illustrate how the ongoing assault against transgender people is taking hold across the country and underscore how dire the situation is growing for our community by the day. “

“Now more than ever, we must fight back against extremism and hold anti-LGBTQ+ politicians accountable for bullying children and terrorizing our families,” Brown said.

In states where bans have taken effect, for some minors who are currently receiving gender affirming care, such as those for whom traveling out of state to retain access to that care is prohibitively expensive or difficult, the law will effectively and forcibly de-transition them.

Because it significantly reduces the likelihood of self harm behaviors and suicide, gender affirming care is in many cases life saving. A study last year by the National Institutes of Health found a link between anti-trans legislation and “suicide- and depression-related Internet searches.”

HRC reports more than 180 bills targeting the trans and nonbinary community have been introduced so far in 2023, of which more than 100 are healthcare bans for trans youth.

The White House has repeatedly spoken out against many of these bills and laws. During a press briefing Wednesday, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre condemned Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s proposal to expand the state’s controversial “Don’t Say Gay” law such that it would prohibit any discussion or classroom instruction of sexual orientation or gender identity in public school classrooms from kindergarten through grade 12.

During a briefing on March 10, Jean-Pierre discussed another Florida bill that proposes to “give the state the right to remove kids from their parents just because that kid is transgender.

And just think about that. Just think about a kid who is sitting at home in this community who is listening and hearing elected officials talking about how they want to take away their rights or how they want to even threaten their parents with felony charges for seeking healthcare for their children,” said the Press Secretary.

By Vesper Henry | WASHINGTON – The Daily Wire’s Editor Emeritus Ben Shapiro has long feigned the status of a “conservative intellectual.” His catchphrase, “facts don’t care about your feelings,” remains pinned on top of his Twitter page in a seven-year-old tweet.

With such a reputation, it would be expected he might adjust his preconceived notions (his “Bayesian priors,” if you will) as more facts come to light, but Shapiro’s breathless repetition of a now-debunked theory about trans youth shows that’s not the case.

Known as “rapid onset gender dysphoria,” this social contagion theory insists that young trans people are being peer pressured or influenced by social media to transition. It also contends that people assigned female at birth are transitioning at higher rates to escape the societal pressures of womanhood. The theory all hinges on 2018 data collected by former Brown University physician Lisa Littman from the parents of trans youth who were involved in anti-trans or trans-skeptical forums and organizations. 

The concept of “rapid onset gender dysphoria” was popularized by Abigail Shrier’s book Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters. In 2020, Shrier appeared on Ben Shapiro’s show to defend the book after Target temporarily pulled it from the shelves for its anti-trans rhetoric.

The idea of social contagion was quickly rebuked by the World Professional Association for Transgender Health, the American Psychological Association, and numerous medical organizations. Within seven months, Brown University retracted its press release and republished the study with several corrections. 

Above all, the corrections emphasized that “rapid onset gender dysphoria” is not an official mental health diagnosis and it “should be used cautiously by clinicians and parents to describe youth” and “not be used in a way to imply that it explains the experiences of all gender dysphoric youth.”

In August 2022, the American Academy of Pediatrics published a study disproving the social contagion theory. Using the 2017 and 2019 findings from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System survey, the paper demonstrates that there is not a significant gender disparity between trans youth. Another study published in the Journal of Pediatrics by Canada-based Trans Youth Can! similarly disproved the theory, concluding that “recent gender knowledge” (as opposed to a longterm understanding of gender identity) was not affected by support from trans friends, online friends, or parents.

Despite the available scientific evidence, Shapiro has continued pushing the social contagion theory with fervor. A March 7 tweet mocked a family with LGBTQ children and called it “a peculiar genetic bottleneck,” sarcastically declaring that it “can’t have anything to do with the environment. All pure biology, obviously.”

What a peculiar genetic bottleneck this family has. They have four kids, including a bisexual son (19), a lesbian daughter (16), and now a “trans son” (12), all publicly celebrated by Mommy! Can’t have anything to do with the environment. All https://t.co/gqRZFUFbnQ…

— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) March 7, 2023

On February 24, Shapiro used results from a recent Gallup poll to insinuate social contagion, based on the large difference in those identifying as LGBTQ between Generation Z and the Silent Generation. He denied it could have anything to do with a change in social acceptance.

From the February 24, 2023, edition of The Ben Shapiro Show, hosted by The Daily Wire:

Shapiro also failed to take into consideration the devastating toll of the AIDS crisis of the ’80s and ’90s, which disproportionately impacted the LGBTQ community. Thousands died because of a stunted government response, as it was believed the disease “might be God’s punishment for immoral sexual behavior.” Some of its youngest survivors would be in their 50s by now.

In early February, Shapiro linked “extraordinarily socially contagious rates of trans and queer identification” to “skyrocketing rates of mental illness” and claimed that President Joe Biden would have to answer for both in the 2024 presidential cycle.

In the same episode of his self-titled show, Shapiro diagnosed parents of trans children with Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy. Also known as Factitious Disorder Imposed on Another, it is a form of mental illness and child abuse where a child’s caregiver projects an illness onto the child who doesn’t actually have it. In Shapiro’s words, the parents are “transing their own kids.”

From the February 10, 2023 edition of The Ben Shapiro Show, hosted by The Daily Wire:

This false diagnosis is another common quip of Shapiro’s. In a March episode during which he again attacked the same family with multiple LGBTQ kids, he accused the parents of trans youth of “screw[ing] your kid beyond all recognition for life.”

Shapiro’s most absurd claim with regard to social contagion is that there are almost no trans youth in conservative areas and an abundance in more liberal areas. Drawing this notion from Bill Maher, he very prominently espoused this idea and his other beliefs on social contagion in early November 2022 at a Young America’s Foundation event at Texas A&M University.

Fighting the transgressives | Ben Shapiro LIVE at Texas A&M University:

Shapiro insists that social and environmental decisions make a difference with regard to a child identifying as trans, but then denies that the rate of suicidal ideation among trans youth could be related to cultural intolerance. Ample evidence exists to refute him.

He feverishly reiterated his stance that trans youth only exist in progressive areas in January, claiming that many top-level Democrats, Hollywood stars, and “the elites in ‘blue society’” have trans children. In the same episode, he claimed the trans population “is now increasing at tens of thousands of percent in certain centers of our nation’s population.”

From the January 24, 2023 edition of The Ben Shapiro Show, hosted by The Daily Wire:

According to the UCLA Williams Institute, the estimated population of trans youth doubled from 2017 to 2022, while the population of trans adults remained consistent. While in October 2022 news outlets fearmongered a nearly 600% increase in nonbinary students in two years at one Maryland school system, they overall accounted for less than 300 students in a student body of nearly 160,000.

But in this and many other things, the facts don’t care about Shapiro’s feelings. In 2017, West Virginia had the highest population of trans youth per capita, despite NBC calling it the “reddest” state the year before. In 2022, researchers at West Virginia University found that 7% of young people in rural Appalachia did not identify fully with their gender assigned at birth.

Looking at the nation as a whole, a 2022 survey by the UCLA Williams Institute did not find major disparities in the trans population in youths aged 13-17 by region: 1.82% of youth identified as transgender in the Northeast, followed by 1.62% of youth in the West, and the South and the Midwest were nearly tied with 1.25% and 1.24% of youth identifying as transgender, respectively.

Only four states (New York, New Mexico, Maryland, and Hawaii) and Washington, D.C., had more than 2% of the youth population identifying as transgender, capping at 3% percent in the state of New York.

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Vesper joined Media Matters for America in October 2022 as a researcher for the LGBTQ Program. They received a bachelor’s degree in journalism with a minor in political science from the University of Georgia.

They have bylines in The Red & Black and DEI organization Awesomely Authentic’s blog, as well as previous research experience with the Democratic Governors Association.

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The preceding article was previously published by Media Matters for America and is republished with permission.

By Kayla Gogarty | WASHINGTON – A Media Matters analysis found that The Daily Wire ’s network of Facebook pages has earned over 17 million interactions from nearly 13,000 posts with transgender-related keywords — many of which amplified attacks on trans athletes, criticism of gender-affirming care, and praise for government officials restricting trans rights.

These anti-trans posts come amid a long history of Facebook giving the right-wing outlet special treatment to earn high engagement and allowing it to flout platform policies.

Jump to section…

• ANTI-TRANS ARTICLES SHARED MOST FREQUENTLY BY THE DAILY WIRE’S NETWORK OF FACEBOOK PAGES
• ANTI-TRANS POSTS FROM THE DAILY WIRE’S NETWORK OF FACEBOOK PAGES THAT EARNED THE MOST INTERACTIONS
• METHODOLOGY

• Social media companies have struggled to prevent anti-LGBTQ hate on their platforms as right-wing media have ramped up harmful rhetoric against the LGBTQ community. Meta — the parent company of Facebook and Instagram — has also profited from this rhetoric, earning tens of thousands of dollars in revenue on ads with the anti-LGBTQ “groomer” slur, which perpetuates the myth that LGBTQ people put children in danger, and at least $5.7 million on over 550 anti-trans ads from right-wing media outlet The Daily Wire.
• On March 4, The Daily Wire’s Michael Knowles claimed during a speech at the 2023 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) that “transgenderism must be eradicated from public life entirely.” (Knowles doubled down on his call to “eradicate transgenderism” in a March 15 column published by The Daily Wire.) These anti-trans comments follow The Daily Wire’s history of pushing anti-LGBTQ rhetoric, including on social media platforms — where companies like Meta have given the right-wing media outlet and its personalities special treatment and allowed it to flout platform policies.
• Using CrowdTangle, Media Matters compiled and analyzed transgender-related posts from The Daily Wire’s network of 19 Facebook pages between January 1, 2021, and March 13, 2023. We found that during this time frame, these pages posted about the transgender community at least 12,940 times, earning over 17.1 million interactions on these posts.
• More than 93% of these interactions — over 16 million — were earned on the more than 5,800 posts from the leading accounts associated with the outlet: Ben Shapiro, Michael Knowles, Matt Walsh, and The Daily Wire itself. Notably, nearly 15% of The Daily Wire’s anti-trans content on Facebook was posted in just two months last year. Over 1,050 such posts — or over 8% — were made in March 2022, when right-wing media promoted Florida’s anti-LGBTQ “Parental Rights in Education” bill, which was signed into law at the end of the month and banned discussion of sexuality or gender identity in kindergarten through third grade.
• An additional 760 of them — or nearly 6% — were posted in June 2022, when Walsh released his anti-trans film What is a Woman?The transgender-related posts with the most interactions from The Daily Wire’s pages and the articles most frequently shared in the network’s transgender-related posts illuminate the anti-trans narratives being amplified by The Daily Wire — attacks on transgender athletes, criticism of gender-affirming care, and praise for government officials restricting transgender rights and care.
• Anti-trans articles shared most frequently by The Daily Wire’s network of Facebook pages
• The network posted a Daily Wire article that amplified anti-trans comments from Brittany Aldean, the wife of country music star Jason Aldean, at least 38 times, earning over 46,000 total interactions. The article repeatedly highlighted her comments comparing gender-affirming care to “the genital mutilation of children” and calling it “one of the worst evils.”
• The network posted a Daily Wire opinion article attacking transgender activist Jazz Jennings at least 37 times. The article deadnamed Jennings and mocked her experience, calling it a “troubling story.”
• The network posted a Daily Wire article that amplified a “British women’s rights campaigner” who confronted a transgender woman at the NCAA women’s championships, where a transgender athlete was competing. The network posted the article at least 35 times, earning over 43,000 total interactions. 
• The Daily Wire’s Facebook pages posted another article that pushed outrage about a transgender woman who took first place in a women’s skateboarding competition. The article was posted by the network of pages at least 34 times, earning over 65,000 interactions.
• The network posted another Daily Wire article about transgender athletes at least 33 times, earning over 151,000 interactions on the posts. The article, which focused on a transgender cyclist who was banned from competing in a women’s championship race, deadnamed multiple transgender athletes.
• The network of pages posted an article — at least 32 times — that amplified an individual’s experience detransitioning, which is a rare occurrence.
• The network posted an article that amplified Daily Wire personality Candace Owens’ attacks on Ulta for supporting transgender actress and influencer Dylan Mulvaney. The article was posted by the pages at least 32 times, earning nearly 65,000 interactions
• The pages shared a Daily Wire article titled “Why Civilization Depends On The Strength Of Men” at least 30 times. The misogynistic article starts, “If we have anything for which to thank the utterly mad ‘transgender’ movement, it is that it has laid bare, for all to see, the relative weakness of the female body by comparison with the male.”
• The network posted another anti-trans Daily Wire article at least 30 times. The article amplified anti-trans content from Libs of TikTok, a Twitter account with 2 million followers that constantly demeans, attacks, and pushes disinformation about the LGBTQ community.
• The pages also posted a Daily Wire article about Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee calling for an investigation in reaction to Daily Wire personality Matt Walsh claiming that Vanderbilt University Medical Center “drugs, chemically castrates, and performs double mastectomies on minors.” The article was posted by the pages at least 30 times, earning over 11,000 interactions on the posts.
• Anti-trans posts from The Daily Wire’s network of Facebook pages that earned the most interactions
• Ben Shapiro: over 212,000 interactions 
• Ben Shapiro: over 208,000 interactions
• Daily Wire: over 163,000 interactions
• Ben Shapiro: over 160,000 interactions
• Ben Shapiro: over 143,000 interactions
• Ben Shapiro: nearly 140,000 interactions
• Ben Shapiro: nearly 128,000 interactions
• Ben Shapiro: over 126,000 interactions and 41 million views
• Candace Owens: over 121,000 interactions and 1.1 million views 
• Ben Shapiro: over 119,000 interactions
• Methodology
• Using CrowdTangle, Media Matters compiled all posts for Facebook pages affiliated with The Daily Wire that were posted between January 1, 2021, and March 13, 2023, and included transgender-related keywords. We reviewed data for these posts, including total interactions (reactions, comments, and shares).
• We defined posts as containing transgender-related keywords if they had any of the following terms in the message or in the included link, article headline, or article description: “trans kid,” “trans kids,” “trans child,” “trans children,” “trans boy,” “trans boys,” “trans girl,” “trans girls,” “trans man,” “trans men,” “trans woman,” “trans women,” “trans female,” “trans male,” “transgender,” “transgenders,” “transgenderism,” “gender transition,” “gender identity,” “biological male,” “biological man,” “biological woman,” “biological boy,” “biological girl,” “biological female,” “women’s sports,” “girls’ sports,” “biological women,” “biological men,” “puberty blockers,” “chemical castration,” “irreversible procedures,” “irreversible surgery,” “irreversible surgeries,” “detransition,” “detransitioner,” “gender reassignment,” “hormone replacement,” “sex change,” or “sex reassignment.”
• The following 19 Facebook pages are associated with The Daily Wire: Ben Shapiro, Daily Wire, Michael Knowles, Matt Walsh, Andrew Klavan, Candace Owens, Donald Trump is My President, Pro-America News, The Angry Patriot, Conservative News, Fed-Up Americans, Restless Patriot, The Real Patriots, The United Patriots, The Conservative, The Right News, Boycott, Don’t Mess With America, and Lady Patriots.

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The preceding article was previously published by Media Matters for America and is republished by permission.

By Alyssa Tirrell & Ari Drennen | WASHINGTON – At the Conservative Political Action Conference, Daily Wire host Michael Knowles stated that “transgenderism must be eradicated from public life entirely.” 

His sentiments were echoed on the CPAC stage by another Daily Wire host, Candace Owens, who claimed that “there is no middle ground on transgenderism,” and applauded on Twitter by Daily Wire host Matt Walsh, who urged for “transgenderism” to be “destroyed completely.” 

While this level of violent rhetoric may have surprised the mainstream media, it’s fully representative of the content available to consumers of Daily Wire podcasts, available through the DailyWire+ app on both Apple and Google, despite terms of service that appear to ban targeted hate against marginalized groups.

The Daily Wire’s bigotry against LGBTQ people ranges from episodes that sport anti-LGBTQ slurs in their titles to editor emeritus Ben Shapiro’s continued attacks on gay marriage. As recently as in late February, several Daily Wire podcast hosts, including Walsh, Knowles, Owens, and Jake Crain, have encouraged violence against trans people, claimed that violence against trans people is inevitable, or urged the eradication of transgender people from public life. 

In September of 2018, Apple removed Infowars, the podcast hosted by conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, from its platform for violating terms of service. The move spurred other tech companies to do the same, and severely limited the reach of Jones’ harmful rhetoric — rhetoric which also cost him a defamation suit and his financial solvency. In spite of this precedent, and repeated violations of Apple and Google terms of service, Daily Wire podcasts remain accessible through the Apple App Store, Apple TV, Google Play, and through Google TV via Chromecast.  

The Matt Walsh Show

Last month, Walsh attacked trans TikTok star Dylan Mulvaney, telling her, “You are weird and artificial, you are manufactured and lifeless, you are unearthly and eerie.” In response to backlash, Walsh doubled down on his extreme anti-trans sentiments, stating that he would “rather be dead” than have a trans child. He added: 

MATT WALSH: When it comes to my children, the children that I cherish more than my own life, if you think mean words go too far, then you would be very shocked to hear how far I would really go to protect them. Trust me, words are the least of it. So, yes, my words reflect anger because I am angry. But the problem is not that I’m angry, the problem is that you aren’t nearly angry enough.

In a similar statement elsewhere, Walsh said that having a transgender child is a “fate worse than death.”

Walsh has blamed trans people for the higher rates of violence perpetrated against them, claiming that they participate in “those high-risk activities more than average,” and has praised anti-LGBTQ legislation that would force LGBTQ people to flee the country. He has also encouraged violence or other aggression against drag performers, saying that progressive attitudes that allow them to perform are “just like cancer,” in that “stopping it is not a gentle or a painless process. The farther along the cancer is, the more aggressive you have to be in fighting it.” He continued: 

MATT WALSH: I don’t want to share a country with you. I don’t want to share a planet with you. That’s how much I despise everything you represent. 

So, with this, this is not compromise. All we can do is crush it. Destroy it. That’s what you do with evil. And that’s what we have to do with this. That should be our objective. Because this is very plainly the mass sexual abuse of kids happening in plain sight.

These statements have spilled out into the real world, as Walsh organizes anti-LGBTQ campaigns and rallies that encourage the violent sentiments of other extremists. In the wake of the mass shooting at Club Q in Colorado Springs, Walsh excused the violence, asking, “if it’s causing this much chaos and violence, why do you insist on continuing to do it?” 

From the November 22, 2022, edition of Daily Wire’s The Matt Walsh Show:

Walsh has also led campaigns against individual trans people that involve harassment, misgendering, and targeted deadnaming, and some of his targets have responded by temporarily withdrawing from public platforms. 

From the March 3, 2023, edition of The Daily Wire’s The Matt Walsh Show:

The Michael Knowles Show

Before appearing on the CPAC stage, Knowles made the claim that “you have to ban transgenderism entirely” on his podcast. In response to concerns that this statement reflected genocidal rhetoric, Knowles replied: 

MICHAEL KNOWLES: I don’t know how you could have a genocide of transgender people because genocide refers to genes, it refers to genetics, it refers to biology. And the whole point of transgenderism is that it has nothing to do with biology. That’s what the transgender activists say. They say, forget about biological sex. My gender expression doesn’t have to have anything to do with my biological sex. OK, well, then there can’t be a genocide. It refers to genetics.

But furthermore, nobody’s calling to exterminate anybody because the other problem with that statement is that transgender people is not a real ontological category. It’s not a legitimate category of being. There are people who think that they’re the wrong sex, but they’re mistaken. They’re laboring under a delusion. And so we need to correct that delusion.

Following the speech at CPAC, the Daily Wire printed the transcript on their website and Knowles released an episode reading his commentary on “transgenderism” word for word again. He continued to promote the idea that the inclusion of transgender people in society is unacceptable, saying that “if you want to deal with the transgender issue, it’s kind of all-or-nothing.” In past episodes, Knowles has also encouraged conversion therapy as a solution for keeping transgender people from appearing in public.

Knowles’ other past statements include claims that gay couples who use egg donors are engaged in slavery and that demons are “always trans.”

Michael Knowles tells CPAC that "there can be no middle way in dealing with transgenderism. … Transgenderism must be eradicated from public life entirely." https://t.co/57hJF4frgq pic.twitter.com/szvnC1qWrP

— Right Wing Watch (@RightWingWatch) March 4, 2023

Candace Owens 

Owens has claimed that “the trans agenda is demonic” and previously spread an anti-trans conspiracy theory about the Uvalde, Texas, shooter: 

“Let’s not talk about any of the symptoms leading up to all of the glaring, obvious signs that this person was, perhaps, mentally unstable because right now, we’re living in a society where we have accepted the narrative that men can become women and women can be men. And what was once acknowledged formerly as a mental illness, gender dysphoria, just a few years ago, was acknowledged officially in the DSM-5 as a mental illness, is now today considered something perfectly normal.” 

She has repeatedly stated that LGBTQ people and allies are pedophiles, even calling for parents of transgender children and parents who allow their children to attend drag queer story hour to have their children taken away. She recently stated that, if she had a trans grandchild, she would beat them with a cane. 

Candace Owens says she would beat her trans grandchild with a cane pic.twitter.com/e049BbfgOy

— Jason Campbell (@JasonSCampbell) February 16, 2023

Crain & Company 

While his podcast is usually dedicated to sports commentary, Jake Crain predicted violence against trans athletes throughout a recent episode. While claiming that he was “advocating for not transgender violence” he nevertheless predicted what was “going to happen” when fathers found out that trans women were in the locker rooms with their cis daughters. While refusing to check the direct encouragements of violence from callers into the show, he cited his own male biology as the source that would eventually drive fathers to protect their cis daughters from trans women, claiming that this was “not a threat” but a “forewarning” and a “foreshadowing.” 

From the February 15, 2023, edition of the Daily Wire’s Crain & Company: 

Terms of service

The Apple App Store and Apple Podcast content guidelines clearly state that objectionable content includes “defamatory, discriminatory, or mean-spirited content, including references or commentary” about sexual orientation and gender, particularly if the app or content “is likely to humiliate, intimidate, or harm a targeted individual or group.” 

Similarly, the Google Play terms of service don’t allow “apps that promote violence, or incite hatred against individuals or groups based on race or ethnic origin, religion, disability, age, nationality, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, caste, immigration status, or any other characteristic that is associated with systemic discrimination or marginalization.” 

Labeling members of a group “demonic” and accusing them of being “groomers,”  while platforming the idea that any public accommodation of that group would be an intolerable compromise, is a clear promotion of  hatred. That hatred bears terrible consequences: According to one study by the Williams Institute, trans people are four times more likely than cisgender people to be the victims of violent victimization, including rape and assault. By providing a platform for vile anti-LGBTQ rhetoric, Apple and Google are making themselves silent partners in this violent campaign against trans life. 

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The preceding article was previously published by Media Matters for America and is republished by permission.

By Media Media Matters Staff | WASHINGTON – Daily Wire host Michael Knowles told his audience on his Tuesday show that “there can’t be a genocide” of trans people, reasoning: “Transgenderism, ultimately, is a lie. It’s a deception. It’s a fraud. Fraud is not protected by the First Amendment. Fraud is not a category protected by the principles of free speech. You have no right to fraud.”

From the February 28, 2023, edition of The Daily Wire’s The Michael Knowles Show:

Transcript:

MICHAEL KNOWLES (HOST): This transgender issue, it’s all anybody wants to talk about. In fact, I got in trouble for this issue yesterday. I, your beloved host, whom everybody loves so, I got in trouble for this issue. It was my publicists over at Media Matters, they were working overtime yesterday, publishing multiple articles about the allegedly egregious things I was saying on this show — which I always encourage. I just retweet them when they put those articles out because those articles and videos tend to be the highlights from my show. So I thank them for going through, clipping it out, making it look really nice, and then they put it out into the world.

The big issue that they had yesterday, which was then picked up in other media outlets as well, is that I called to ban transgenderism entirely. I made the point that if you want if women to have their own bathrooms, if you think women ought to be able to have their own locker rooms and not have to look at gigantic gross men while little girls are getting changed, if you want any of those things, you have to ban transgenderism entirely. It’s not enough to say, well, you have to wait until you’re 12 or whatever people are saying now. It has to be the whole thing because if men have the right to behave as women and identify as women for the purposes of public life, then women can’t have their own spaces and we as a society cannot have our own standards and norms and we’re not allowed to live according to reality. We have to live according to the delusions of these troubled people. And I think we, the people, have a right to reality. And I think women have a right to their own spaces. And so, that means you’ve got to ban the thing entirely.

And, oh, my goodness, what these people say. They said that I was calling for the extermination of transgender people. They said I was calling for a genocide against – I said, what? I must have missed that part of my show. When did I -– did I say that? I don’t – one, I don’t know how you could have a genocide of transgender people because genocide refers to genes, it refers to genetics, it refers to biology. And the whole point of transgenderism is that it has nothing to do with biology. That’s what the transgender activists say. They say, forget about biological sex. My gender expression doesn’t have to have anything to do with my biological sex. Okay, well, then there can’t be a genocide. It refers to genetics.

But furthermore, nobody’s calling to exterminate anybody because the other problem with that statement is that transgender people is not a real ontological category. It’s not a legitimate category of being. There are people who think that they’re the wrong sex, but they’re mistaken. They’re laboring under a delusion. And so we need to correct that delusion.

People said, well, what does it mean to ban transgenderism entirely? Well, it means that we return to the way that American society operated until approximately five minutes ago when we said that men do not have a right to present themselves as women in public life, and women don’t have a right to present themselves as men in public life. You have some limits on that. We have all sorts of limits on our speech and behavior. 

…

And transgenderism, ultimately, is a lie. It’s a deception. It’s a fraud. Fraud is not protected by the First Amendment. Fraud is not a category protected by the principles of free speech. You have no right to fraud. So if you’re a man and you dress up like a woman and you rename yourself Sally, you have no right to go to the gym and go into the women’s locker room and say, no, I’m really a woman. That’s a fraud. And you have no right to that.

So, banning transgenderism, what that would mean is telling people who are a little confused that they need to get psychological help, that they probably need to get a little bit of spiritual help and they need to be normal. Be normal. That’s my — I think that’s my main political message these days.

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The preceding article was previously published by Media Matters for America and is republished by permission.