News
Latest News
news bulletin
Breaking Headlines
Israel-Gaza War Updates
Variety and Tech
Sports News
Middle East News
World News
Lebanon News
Press Highlights
Lebanon Economy
News Bulletin Reports
Other News
Breaking Headlines
Israel-Gaza War Updates
Variety and Tech
Sports News
Middle East News
World News
Lebanon News
Press Highlights
Lebanon Economy
News Bulletin Reports
Beirut
32
o
Bekaa
34
o
Keserwan
34
o
Metn
34
o
Mount Lebanon
29
o
North
33
o
South
32
o
Live
Video
Audio
Schedule
shows
العربية
watching now
Conversations with Ricardo Karam
SUBSCRIBE
Home
Notification
Live
Video
Audio
shows
Beirut
32
o
Bekaa
34
o
Keserwan
34
o
Metn
34
o
Mount Lebanon
29
o
North
33
o
South
32
o
News
Programs
The News
Breaking Headlines
Israel-Gaza War Updates
Variety and Tech
Sports News
Middle East News
World News
Lebanon News
Press Highlights
Lebanon Economy
News Bulletin Reports
Programs
Documentaries
Lebanon’s Centennial
News Bulletin
The Untold History
Talk Show
Series
Sports
Variety
Other
Comedy
Oldies
Breaking News
Latest News
Highlighted News
Most Read
Videos
العربية
Watch the latest programs and the latest developments on your favorite screen
Shows
Join millions of followers
Who We Are
Contact Us
Advertise With Us
Careers
Channel frequencies
Privacy Policy
Terms and Conditions
Surge in anti-LGBTQ disinformation targets Pride in Europe
World News
2023-06-23 | 06:02
High views
Share
Share
6
min
Surge in anti-LGBTQ disinformation targets Pride in Europe
As Pride events got underway in Europe in June, disinformation and hate speech targeting the LGBTQ community spread across social media, triggering extreme online responses, including incitements to violence.
Advocacy groups across Europe said the deluge of toxic content online is part of an overall trend of rising anti-LGBTQ sentiment worldwide. But the community is coming under particular pressure during public events -- including those associated with Pride, they noted.
The surge in online disinformation and vitriol is all the more worrying after a spate of violence during Pride events last summer in Europe.
One social media post in Polish falsely stating that the army would create "LGBT units" was shared across Telegram, Twitter and Facebook in Serbia.
That prompted some users to comment that the new soldiers should be "burned at the stake", while others praised Hitler's persecution of gay men.
Another false claim, that the Arc de Triomphe in Paris had been turned into a rainbow art installation, went viral in multiple European languages. Facebook users responded with slurs -- one person calling for LGBTQ people to be burned and executed.
In Hungary, where government and pro-government media personalities often use anti-LGBTQ rhetoric, Pride celebrations were referred to online using derogatory, homophobic slurs.
Online, some posts smeared the LGBTQ community with claims of child abuse.
Claims that the community was a danger to society were also widespread.
Posts in Finnish and Croatian either missed or deliberately ignored the satirical nature of a book for adults by a Canadian comedian, Brad Gosse, falsely claiming it was "promoting sex to children" as part of a trans-rights campaign.
"If you think these are actually kids' books, you shouldn't be allowed to vote," he quipped on Twitter.
The wave of false claims and hate speech is part of an increasingly violent public discourse against LGBTQ people, say campaigners.
Some European countries -- such as Spain, Slovenia and Moldova -- have adopted new legislation protecting LGBTQ rights.
But a recent report by the Brussels-based ILGA-Europe (International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association) found that "the public discourse is becoming more polarised and violent, particularly against trans people".
A May 2023 European Digital Media Observatory (EDMO) report said anti-LGBTQ misinformation and disinformation was particularly prolific and "often incites hate against minorities, laws and institutions".
- 'The same tune'-
While some anti-LGBTQ false claims shared on social media in Europe in June first appeared in the United States, others originated in Russia.
AFP fact-checkers found that the video claiming to show Polish public television reporting that the country's army would open "LGBT units" was first shared on Russian propaganda channels in January.
"Russia and the US far-right are playing the same tune," Jakob Svensson, a professor of media and communication science at Malmo University, told AFP.
Svensson's research highlights a synergy between global actors framing progressive laws or the simple visibility of the LGBTQ community as an attack on "traditional values".
Such disinformation campaigns feed into European narratives: false claims about trans athletes filtered from social media in the US to Europe in 2023, where a far-right politician spread them further.
Researchers and campaigners say a lack of sufficient moderation on social media platforms exacerbates the problem.
Aleksandra Gavrilovic -- program coordinator for the Serbian NGO for lesbian human rights Labris -- fears young people are particularly exposed to "content that is neither verified nor accurate".
The lack of consequences for those spreading false claims and hate speech "can also embolden anti-LGBTQ activists and bashers who feel impunity to attack", Svensson added.
- 'Hate campaigners and troll farms' -
The spike in anti-LGBTQ rhetoric around Pride events in Europe is part of a global trend.
Some US Pride celebrations have been scaled back this year, organizers told AFP, especially in states where politicians want to curtail rights, as false claims linking the community to paedophilia and Satanism have amassed across social media platforms.
The surge in disinformation and hate speech around Pride comes as campaigners highlight how physical attacks against LGBTQ people are rising generally in Europe.
ILGA-Europe said Europe and Central Asia had seen the "deadliest rise" in attacks in a decade in 2022 when it announced its annual review, a compilation of incident reports from 54 countries.
Oslo's yearly Pride parade was cancelled last year following a fatal shooting at LGBTQ venues. Bratislava was rocked by a similar attack in front of an LGBTQ bar.
Milos Kovacevic -- legal empowerment coordinator for Serbia-based NGO Da Se Zna! -- told AFP how physical attacks had surged alongside anti-LGBTQ claims online around EuroPride in Belgrade last September.
"Half of the incidents we registered in 2022 happened in August and September," he said.
The leap from online slurs to real-life danger is at the forefront of campaigners' minds.
Remy Bonny -- executive director of EU-wide LGBTQ advocacy group Forbidden Colors -- told AFP how he was targeted online by "hate campaigners and troll farms" earlier this year for trying to convince EU members to join a lawsuit against anti-LGBTQ laws in Hungary.
The director of Hungary's government-backed Center for Fundamental Rights tweeted that Bonny would not be allowed "near Hungarian children".
AFP found dozens of tweets in English from Twitter accounts with Hungarian usernames calling Bonny and LGBTQ people sexual predators.
"Everybody knows how dangerous it can be to publicly call someone a 'groomer' or 'pedophile' without any evidence," Bonny told AFP.
"This jeopardizes my personal security."
AFP
World News
Surge
Anti-LGBTQ
Disinformation
Targets
Pride
Europe
Next
Italy refuses extradition of Palestinian to Israel over rights fears
Recommended For You
d-none hideMe
0
World News
07:45
French rail chief says sabotage repairs to be repaired by Monday
World News
07:45
French rail chief says sabotage repairs to be repaired by Monday
0
World News
07:11
US hails 'open and productive discussions' with China FM
World News
07:11
US hails 'open and productive discussions' with China FM
0
World News
05:54
Blinken criticizes China's 'escalating actions' at sea ahead of Wang meeting
World News
05:54
Blinken criticizes China's 'escalating actions' at sea ahead of Wang meeting
0
World News
05:49
ASEAN expresses concern over 'alarming casualties' in Gaza
World News
05:49
ASEAN expresses concern over 'alarming casualties' in Gaza
Subscribe to our VOD
SUBSCRIBE
Our visitors readings
d-none hideMe
0
Lebanon News
06:58
Israeli navy intercepts drone approaching Israel's economic waters from Lebanon
Lebanon News
06:58
Israeli navy intercepts drone approaching Israel's economic waters from Lebanon
0
Middle East News
2024-07-01
Turkey mediating Somalia-Ethiopia talks on port deal
Middle East News
2024-07-01
Turkey mediating Somalia-Ethiopia talks on port deal
0
Lebanon News
2024-04-09
LBCI sources unveil new details about Pascal Sleiman's murder case
Lebanon News
2024-04-09
LBCI sources unveil new details about Pascal Sleiman's murder case
0
Israel-Gaza War Updates
2024-06-08
Gantz delays press conference on resignation from war cabinet
Israel-Gaza War Updates
2024-06-08
Gantz delays press conference on resignation from war cabinet
Videos
d-none hideMe
0
World News
2024-07-21
Full Transcript: Trump's Coordinator of Arab Relations Discusses Plan to Win Arab Voters and Achieve Peace
World News
2024-07-21
Full Transcript: Trump's Coordinator of Arab Relations Discusses Plan to Win Arab Voters and Achieve Peace
0
Lebanon News
2024-07-18
Two dead in Israeli airstrike on Jmeijmeh, south Lebanon (Video)
Lebanon News
2024-07-18
Two dead in Israeli airstrike on Jmeijmeh, south Lebanon (Video)
0
Lebanon News
2024-07-11
Hezbollah's Ibrahim Moussawi to CNN: Regional powers do not seek full-scale conflict
Lebanon News
2024-07-11
Hezbollah's Ibrahim Moussawi to CNN: Regional powers do not seek full-scale conflict
0
Lebanon News
2024-07-09
Hezbollah’s "Hudhud" shows new footage of Israeli sites
Lebanon News
2024-07-09
Hezbollah’s "Hudhud" shows new footage of Israeli sites
0
Lebanon News
2024-06-18
Hezbollah scouts areas in northern Israel: What the hoopoe came back with (Video)
Lebanon News
2024-06-18
Hezbollah scouts areas in northern Israel: What the hoopoe came back with (Video)
0
Lebanon News
2024-06-12
Over 100 rockets launched from southern Lebanon toward northern Israel (Video)
Lebanon News
2024-06-12
Over 100 rockets launched from southern Lebanon toward northern Israel (Video)
0
Lebanon News
2024-06-10
Video shows Israeli drone downing in Iqlim al-Tuffah, South Lebanon
Lebanon News
2024-06-10
Video shows Israeli drone downing in Iqlim al-Tuffah, South Lebanon
0
Middle East News
2024-05-21
Funeral ceremony of the Iranian president begins in Tabriz (Video)
Middle East News
2024-05-21
Funeral ceremony of the Iranian president begins in Tabriz (Video)
0
Lebanon News
2024-05-14
Exclusive LBCI interview: Canadian FM urges ceasefire and Resolution 1701 adherence in Lebanon talks, discusses Canadian support for LAF, UNIFIL
Lebanon News
2024-05-14
Exclusive LBCI interview: Canadian FM urges ceasefire and Resolution 1701 adherence in Lebanon talks, discusses Canadian support for LAF, UNIFIL
Most read
d-none hideMe
24 hours
7 days
Month
1
Lebanon News
10:32
The Countdown Is On! Summer's Most Awaited Event: Miss Lebanon, Live Tomorrow at 8:30 PM on LBCI and lbcgroup.tv
Lebanon News
10:32
The Countdown Is On! Summer's Most Awaited Event: Miss Lebanon, Live Tomorrow at 8:30 PM on LBCI and lbcgroup.tv
2
Lebanon News
10:42
US President Biden issues deferred enforced departure for Lebanese nationals, protecting them from deportation for 18 months
Lebanon News
10:42
US President Biden issues deferred enforced departure for Lebanese nationals, protecting them from deportation for 18 months
3
Lebanon News
11:33
US President Biden’s deferred enforced departure for Lebanese nationals is not an indication of imminence of further escalation
Lebanon News
11:33
US President Biden’s deferred enforced departure for Lebanese nationals is not an indication of imminence of further escalation
4
News Bulletin Reports
13:05
War resolution: Netanyahu confronted with ceasefire demands in talks with US leaders
News Bulletin Reports
13:05
War resolution: Netanyahu confronted with ceasefire demands in talks with US leaders
5
News Bulletin Reports
13:06
Netanyahu's conditions: Israel and Hamas struggle to overcome deadlock in ongoing negotiations
News Bulletin Reports
13:06
Netanyahu's conditions: Israel and Hamas struggle to overcome deadlock in ongoing negotiations
6
Lebanon News
06:58
Israeli navy intercepts drone approaching Israel's economic waters from Lebanon
Lebanon News
06:58
Israeli navy intercepts drone approaching Israel's economic waters from Lebanon
7
News Bulletin Reports
13:08
Securing nomination: Can Harris secure Michigan delegates for Democratic nomination?
News Bulletin Reports
13:08
Securing nomination: Can Harris secure Michigan delegates for Democratic nomination?
8
Israel-Gaza War Updates
04:46
Israel tells Gazans to temporarily evacuate southern Khan Younis areas
Israel-Gaza War Updates
04:46
Israel tells Gazans to temporarily evacuate southern Khan Younis areas
Download now the LBCI mobile app
To see the latest news, the latest daily programs in Lebanon and the world
Google Play
App Store
We use
cookies
We use
cookies
to make
your experience on this
website better.
Accept
Learn More