Florida's 'Don't Say Gay' law fuels anti-LGBTQ hate online

[Eugene]

Source: Associated Press

Florida’s ‘Don’t Say Gay’ law fuels anti-LGBTQ hate online

By DAVID KLEPPER
August 10, 2022

Research that analyzed social media posts finds that hateful references to gays, lesbians and other LGBTQ people surged online after Florida passed a law that bars instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third grade.

References to pedophiles and “ grooming ” rose by more than 400 percent in the month after Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” measure was approved, according to a report released Wednesday by the Human Rights Campaign, one of the nation’s largest LGBTQ advocacy groups, and the Center for Countering Digital Hate, a nonprofit group that tracks online extremism.

The measure, passed by the Florida Legislature on March 8 and signed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis on March 28, says school teachers cannot discuss gender identity or sexual orientation with their young students. Supporters have said decisions about talking about sexual orientation should be left to parents, not teachers.

Critics have said the law sends a hateful message about LGBTQ people.

The researchers who compiled the report found that the 500 most-viewed tweets that mentioned “grooming” were viewed more than 72 million times between January and July.

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Read more: https://apnews.com/article/technology-florida-gender-identity-afc63ddae2a10a32010b5b2ba23fddf0