Hack Media in Action

Following the lead of the New York Times, the Washington Post has misrepresented the results of a poll to trash transgender people.

Specifically, they claim in the hed that a majority of Americans favor the GOP's genocidal policies toward the transgender when the poll shows the opposite:

………

As many of you know, I’m [Parker Molloy] transgender. As such, the way trans issues are covered in the mainstream press was/is/will continue to be extremely important and personal to me. Why? Well, most people don’t actually know any trans people, so their opinion on the issues that affect our lives tends to be shaped (more or less) entirely by what people see in the media. For that reason, I think it’s really important that these issues be framed in ways that acknowledge the humanity of trans people and our right to participate in society.

You have to start from that premise. I’m sorry, but yes, you have to.

You can have specific discussions about what hoops trans people need to jump through in order to do things like updating identifying documents, participating in elite-level sports, and so on, but you have to establish that the continued existence of trans people as part of society is not a question up for debate. I want to talk about something that really set me off this morning.

“Most in U.S. back GOP’s anti-trans policies,” reads the headline of a piece by the Post’s Laura Meckler and Scott Clement. “Poll bolsters those seeking restrictions in schools, sports and health care,” continues the subheadline.

Yep. The front page. I was shocked to see this, as there hasn’t been a single poll I’ve seen that shows that “clear majorities of Americans support restrictions” on trans people’s lives. Here’s how it begins:

Clear majorities of Americans support restrictions affecting transgender children, a Washington Post-KFF poll finds, offering political jet fuel for Republicans in state legislatures and Congress who are pushing measures restricting curriculum, sports participation and medical care.

This frames the GOP’s anti-trans policies as being about “children,” but that’s just not the reality of what’s happening, and it’s worth being very clear about this: the “GOP’s anti-trans policies” are not just about trans minors. Many are, and they’re horrible policies, but that is by no means an accurate description of what the GOP is trying to do. Just look at Florida, which just last week passed a bill that effectively banned trans people from using public restrooms that match their gender identity at any building owned/leased/funded by the state government. Stadiums, airports, hospitals, schools, etc.

………


Let’s look at what the poll actually found. Question 30: “Do you (support) or (oppose) laws prohibiting discrimination against trans people (INSERT TERMS)?”

Here’s what they found:

• 71% of adults support laws banning discrimination against trans people by medical professionals.
• 72% of adults support laws banning discrimination against trans people from getting health insurance.
• 69% of adults support laws banning discrimination against transgender people in K-12 schools.
• 73% of adults support laws banning discrimination against transgender people at colleges and universities.
• 73% of adults support laws banning discrimination against transgender people at their jobs and workplaces.
• 74% of adults support laws banning discrimination against transgender people in housing.
• 65% of adults support laws banning discrimination against transgender people in the U.S. military.

………

There are a handful of questions framed around personal beliefs, sure. “Do you think it is (appropriate) or (inappropriate) for teachers to discuss trans identity in public schools with students in (INSERT ITEM)?”

(77% said inappropriate in K-3, 70% said inappropriate in grades 4-5, 52% said inappropriate in grades 6-8, but just 36% said inappropriate for grades 9-12)

Note that this question didn’t ask if it should be the law to ban teachers from discussing “trans identity,” but just whether or not they personally believe it’s appropriate or inappropriate.

And let’s look at another question: “Do you (support) or (oppose) trans children between the ages of 10 and 14 having access to (ITEM) under medical supervision?”

While 68% of adults responded that they oppose access to puberty-blocking medication for trans youth between 10 and 14, only 37% of adults oppose access to “gender-affirming counseling or therapy.” 62% of adults support trans kids between the ages of 10 and 14 being able to access gender-affirming counseling/therapy, which is something that the GOP is trying to make illegal.

For that same question, but with ages 15-17 and “hormonal treatments” in place of “puberty-blocking medication,” just 33% of adults oppose allowing those teens to access gender-affirming counseling/therapy, and a slim majority (58%) oppose access to hormonal treatments.

The framing of these questions didn’t ask if the government should enact laws imposing their beliefs on the public. To frame it as such (which the piece and the headline did) is a lie, and a willful lie, at that.

The authors of that Washington Post piece — a piece that gleefully described their own poll (which, again, found that the majority of adults support legal protections for trans people in all areas of life) as “offering political jet fuel for Republicans in state legislatures and Congress” — have blood on their hands. The same is true for the many people who saw this before it went to print and decided to slap it on the front page of the paper: blood on their hands. Their goal is clear: to increase anti-trans sentiment among the public and to advance anti-trans policies. This isn’t new, but it’s time people started pushing back against this obvious anti-trans propaganda.

Bad and dishonest reporting, and they put it on the front page no less.

I almost wish that I had a subscription so that I could cancel it.

(Why yes, I have been looking for an excuse to use this image for a while)