Facebook's hate profits
Why crack down on hate when it makes so much money?
It’s Friday, you made it! Did you make it through the day without hearing the word “Giuliani”? Did I just ruin it for you? Sorry about that.
But here’s some LGBTQ news to round out your week!
Trump DOJ weighs in on Indiana Catholic school firing
This summer, a pair of Catholic schools in Indiana was forced to decide what to do with teachers who had entered into a same-sex marriage (incidentally, to each other). The one, a Jesuit school, insisted on retaining its teacher and is now fighting with the Vatican to still be identified as Catholic.
The other school didn’t want to take on that fight and fired its teacher, who then sued in state court. Today, Trump’s Department of Justice weighed in to defend that school from the discrimination complaint.
The DOJ argues that as a private organization, the school can do whatever it want, and any effort the courts make to police those actions is improper. As Slate’s Mark Joseph Stern points out, it’s a rationale that could give many other non-religious schools and businesses a right to discriminate — not as a matter of “religious freedom,” but as “expressive association.”
As a reminder, the DOJ had zero obligation to engage with this particular case at all. It chose to weigh in specifically to defend a firing on the basis of sexual orientation.
Facebook is making a ton of money off hate groups
A new report from Sludge finds that Facebook has made nearly $1.6 million over the past year or so entirely off ads from hate groups, as defined by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC). While a majority of that messaging was anti-immigrant, a solid third of it was anti-LGBTQ messaging.
Two of the biggest spenders among these groups were the Alliance Defending Freedom and Family Research Council, both of which work to undermine LGBTQ equality. The SPLC’s Keegan Hankes explained that Facebook does not practice what it preaches when it comes what these extremist groups can post.
The report follows Facebook’s announcement earlier this week that it won’t enforce its community standards on content posted by politicians.
Tennessee teen commits suicide after classmates out him
There’s a sad story out of Tennessee this week as family and friends mourn the death of 16-year-old Channing Smith, who died by suicide Sunday night after being outed on social media as bisexual. Channing had reportedly confided in a few friends, but text messages were soon shared on Instagram and Snapchat to humiliate him, according to his brother Joshua.
Channing reportedly also called one of the students sharing the images and discussed his plans to commit suicide, but she did nothing. The family is interested in pursuing criminal charges against the people who shared the photos, but they’re stuck with Craig Northcott, the anti-LGBTQ district attorney who made national news for saying he doesn’t think same-sex couples deserve domestic violence protection.
Cyberbullying doesn’t cause suicide directly, but as a massive stressor, it can have significant mental health consequences, including depression, anxiety, and associated suicidal thinking. To think that he even reached out for help and was ignored by those harassing him is just a horrid reminder of how much more seriously we must take cyberbullying.
Happy National Gay Men’s HIV/AIDS Awareness Day
Yes, it seems like there’s a special day for everything, but given HIV transition rates of HIV are still highest among gay and bi men, it’s an important day of awareness. This year, the theme is focused on conversations around undetectable viral loads and PrEP, emphasizing our very real ability to end the epidemic.
As Jacob Anderson-Minshall explains at HIV Plus Magazine:
HIV has been associated with the gay male community for so long it's hard to believe we still need to raise awareness about HIV and AIDS among gay men. But we do. Here's why.
1 in 6 of us will test positive.
Statistics still show HIV is more prevalent among gay and bi men — especially young Black bi and gay men. While gay and bisexual men only represent 2 percent of the male population, we represent 55 percent of all Americans currently living with HIV. A 2016 study makes things more disconcerting.
To commemorate this year’s observance, drag superstar Nina West released the catchy new song “Treat Yourself,” featuring the Columbus gayborhood and the OraQuick home HIV test:
Quick Hits
The Human Rights Campaign has come out in favor of the Trump impeachment inquiry.
A human HIV vaccine trial is recruiting!
The World Congress of Families is preparing to host a big African conference to amplify anti-sex ed, anti-LGBTQ, and anti-abortion views.
Brexit will have untold effects on trade, and could lead to a shortage of PrEP across the UK.
DC police have arrested the man suspected of harassing, attacking, and robbing various transgender women in the city.
For Israeli performance artist Ita Segev, her gender transition also impacted her political thinking about Palestine.
Musician Mark Ronson has totally walked back — and (kind of) apologized for — his claim to be sapiosexual (attracted to intelligence, not gender), admitting he’s totally heterosexual.
As the Mexican professional wrestling league Lucha Libre AAA has reached international audiences, so too has its audiences’ commonly used homophobic slur, “Puto!”
Congrats to transgender professional boxer Patricio Manuel, who is the new face of Everlast!
Until next time, stay platinum! Have a great weekend!
(Facebook photo credit: Flickr/Book Catalog.)