‘Liberal’ U.S. News Outlets Are Riding Anti-Trans HysteriaMedia bias attempts and fails playing it middle-of-the-road

Lsjaffee (Writer, Educator, Over-Thinker)

Photo courtesy of A. Pollicino

With public trust in media at an all-time low, news outlets realize potential viewers and readers may already have unfair perceptions of their profession. At the end of the day, it’s still a business, and to reach middle America’s “lowest common denominator,” the networks and major newspapers feel more can be done not to come off as so “liberal.” But lately when LGBTQ+ issues are being discussed, it’s as if the news outlets are GOP candidates running for office.

Using trans kids as a scapegoat is a contagion that is undercurrent of the “culture wars” plaguing the country.

The April 12, 2024 New York Times newsletter provides an analysis of the new “evil axis” of Russia, China and Iran, serving as an example of such bias within its international coverage.

“All have authoritarian governments. All have patriarchal societies, with few women in senior roles. All restrict L.G.B.T. rights,” wrote NYT newsletter writer David Leonhardt.

All restrict L.G.B.T. rights? What country does Leonhardt live in? The so-called “paper of record” completely overlooks the more than two-thirds of U.S. states’ attempts to criminalize transgender health in a trend that has worsened every year since 2017.

Also on April 12, Substack blogger Erin Reed reported “Tennessee Senate Passes Bill Making ‘Recruiting’ For Trans Youth Care A Felony.” Wrote Reed:

Read broadly, the bill could apply even to those providing information about healthcare resources and laws in other states to youths in Tennessee. The bill borrows old language from anti-gay rhetoric of decades past around “recruiting” to further clamp down on information given to transgender youth about healthcare. It signals a new phase in the fight over transgender care in the United States, potentially having nationwide repercussions and pitting the state against others that have passed shield laws protecting patient healthcare from out-of-state investigations.

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