GLAAD, HRC Issue Letter Signed by 250+ Stars Asking Social Platforms to Curb Anti-LGBTQ Hate

GLAAD and the Human Rights Campaign have teamed to issue a public letter signed by more than 250 notable names that urges CEOs of Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok and Twitter to help curb anti-LGBTQ hate on their platforms by better enforcing policies that protect that community.

The list of signatories includes allies and LGBTQ talent like Elliot Page, Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Dan Levy, Jamie Lee Curtis, Amy Landecker, Amy Schumer, Angelica Ross, Bebe Rexha, Bella Ramsey, Ben Barnes, Billy Eichner, Billy Porter, Busy Phillips, Camila Cabello, Cara Delevingne, Cheyenne Jackson, Cynthia Nixon, Dylan Mulvaney, Gabrielle Union-Wade, Hailey Bieber, Hannah Gadsby, Janelle Monáe, Jinkx Monsoon, Judd Apatow, Kal Penn, Kendrick Sampson, Lena Dunham, Lena Waithe, Michaela Jae Rodriguez, Niecy Nash Betts, Patrick Stewart, Patti LuPone, Ramy Youssef, Rosario Dawson, Sam Smith, Sara Bareilles, Sia, Shawn Mendes, Taika Waititi, Zoe Chao, Zooey Deschanel and more. 

The letter is addressed to Mark Zuckerberg, who oversees Instagram and Facebook, Neal Mohan of YouTube, Shou Zi Chew of TikTok, and Linda Yaccarino and Elon Musk for their oversight of Twitter. “True allies do not profit from anti-LGBTQ hate,” opens the letter. “There has been a massive systemic failure to prohibit hate, harassment, and malicious anti-LGBTQ disinformation on your platforms and it must be addressed. The very content you profit from is in violation of your own terms of service, which assert that you do not allow hate speech.”

The letter goes on to offer suggestions for hate speech and harassment policies, addressing disinformation about transgender youth healthcare, accounts and posts that perpetuate anti-LBTGQ extremist hate, attacks on prominent trans public figures and influencers, and more. GLAAD collaborated with writer, performer and influencer ALOK on outreach for the letter. It comes on the heels of GLAAD’s third annual Social Media Safety Index, a study that found that anti-LGBTQ hate speech and disinformation “continues to be an alarming public health and safety issue.”

“It’s clear these creators and celebrities recognize that social media companies should be taking urgent action to address the pervasiveness and severity of viral hate and misinformation about LGBTQ, trans and gender nonconforming users, but instead such anti-LGBTQ content drives profits for the companies and is too often met with inaction,” said GLAAD president and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis. “You can draw a direct line from online hate and misinformation about trans people to the hundreds of anti-trans bills across the U.S. as well as the rise in violence against LGBTQ people.”

HRC president Kelley Robinson said that “we’re living in a state of emergency,” adding, “and it’s time that these social media platforms and tech giants take long-overdue action and actually enforce policies that ensure LGBTQ+ people do not face disproportionate harassment and hate simply for being who we are or loving who we love. Time and time again, we have seen that hate allowed to fester online can and will result in real-world consequences. It’s about time for social media platforms to take that seriously.”