The grift is real - Fox News spreads lies about LGBTQ people while simultaneously hosting a webpage which celebrates Pride Month

 

It's all a grift. Fox News spreads lies about LGBTQ people while simultaneously hosting a webpage which celebrates Pride Month.

We are in an age in which people stoke things up for profit. They call it creating a debate, but it's all about nurturing the anger and stoking the prejudice until it reaps money and fame.

No entity is better at this than Fox News:

Fox News hosts and guests have repeatedly peddled false claims about Target selling "tuck-friendly" or "tuck-'em" swimsuits for children as part of its Pride Month collection, fueling right-wing viewers and activists to wage a war on companies that are supporting the LGBTQ+ community. Despite the story being debunked by the Associated Press, such claims have emerged as part of a more extensive campaign against national brands that support Pride Month and promote efforts encouraging diversity and inclusion.

 "This is just one side of this extremist playbook," Eric Bloem, Human Rights Campaign senior director of programs and corporate advocacy, told Salon. "As we enter Pride Month this year, it has been the most historic anti-LGBTQ+ legislative year. We've had over 500 anti-LGBTQ+ pieces of legislation across different states across the country – most of them targeting the trans community."

 . . .Several of the claims being pushed out by Fox hosts lack evidence, Media Matters pointed out in its report. Host Rachel Campos-Duffy has called on other Target brands to speak out against the store, suggesting that it's their moral obligation to publicly call out the retail giant. 

"No one doubts that Chip and Joanna are good people, kind, moral, and aligned with American values, but if I had a line at a company, and my name was on it, and that brand partnered with a trans satanist that makes tuck-'em bikinis for kids, I would feel compelled to speak up," Campos-Duffy said. "Now, maybe they're raising questions internally — of course, that's possible — but why aren't they doing so publicly?"

 But Target has only been selling tuck-friendly swimsuits made for adults and not for kids as false rumors have claimed. Even after the AP debunked these falsehoods, Fox hosts have continued to push out baseless claims. Failed Michigan gubernatorial candidate Tudor Dixon appeared on Primetime and expressed her resentment towards Target. 

 The grand irony - and probably the most disgusting part of it all - is while Fox News amplifies false stories against the LGBTQ community, the network hosts a webpage which celebrates Pride Month. The webpage spotlights several prominent LGBTQ people, including trans child Ryland Whittington and his family. 

The webpage is currently active, including the video of the Whittington family, in spite of how Fox News publishes articles and television segments filled with dog whistles about gender-affirming healthcare in relation to trans children.

The grift is strong. And it is nasty.