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With the number of lies out there being spewed on mainstream media outlets by professional haters like Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council, this will keep the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) busy with its Commentator Accountability Project (CAP).
The project aims to educate the media about the extreme rhetoric of over three dozen activists who are often given a platform to speak in opposition to LGBT people and the issues that affect their lives.
To view online resources detailing anti-LGBT rhetoric that these activists have used visit: http://www.glaad.org/cap and follow #glaadcap.
“Hate is not an expert opinion,” said GLAAD spokesperson Herndon Graddick. “In most cases, news outlets invite reputable experts to speak on the subject at hand, but when talking about LGBT issues, open hostility and anti-LGBT bias seems to be all the credibility required. This project holds these so-called ‘pundits’ accountable for the extreme anti-LGBT rhetoric they continue to spread.”
The Commentator Accountability Project launches with a comprehensive set of online resources detailing the anti-LGBT, racist, and anti-woman sentiments of nearly three dozen anti-LGBT commentators who have appeared in local and national news. As more commentators engage in anti-LGBT rhetoric, new profiles will be added.
“These activists have the right to recite their anti-LGBT talking points, but it is important to expose the questionable and often hostile rhetoric that passes as punditry when so-called ‘experts’ speak out against the lives of LGBT people on the air or in print,” explained Graddick. “If networks are going to continue to invite those with incendiary anti-LGBT views on their programs, show runners should know the full picture of who these individuals really are so that critical context can be relayed to the audience.”
GLAAD will utilize the resources of the Commentator Accountability Project in future meetings with editors, writers, network executives, producers, and guest bookers — providing the mainstream media with a tool by which to hold commentators accountable.
GLAAD encourages individuals to alert the organization when these virulently anti-LGBT activists appear on local or national news. To report an incident visit: http://www.glaad.org/cap
View the Commentator Accountability Project here: www.glaad.org/cap
Follow the conversation on Twitter: #glaadcap
Talk with GLAAD about the project here: www.facebook.com/glaad
4 Comments
You think they’ll be able to hold Fox accountable for anything?
They may try, but Fox won’t care. If anything, condemnation by GLAAD CAP might be a badge of honor for those appearing on Fox. It will certainly give them an opportunity to whine about being victims who are persecuted just because they stand up for their good ol’ religious values.
I nominated Keith Ablow for his homophobia and transphobia
Sounds like a good idea I guess but how effective will the campaign be? I question GLAAD like I question Gay Inc. in general, which has been largely weak and ineffectual. GLAAD’s poor handling of the Roland Martin deal is a good example of what I mean.
I’m puzzled by this one bit from CAP: Journalists or producers who are on deadline often don’t have the time to dig into the histories of a commentator.
Honestly? If Tony Perkins and Bryan Fischer are a mystery to journalists then they should really find another line of work. Micah Clark might be unknown to people outside of Indiana but he fronts the local American Family Association and his extreme views are well-documented. Anyone locally who doesn’t know what his views are hasn’t read a newspaper.
I don’t think it’s the media who need educated; they can’t all be that ignorant of who these people really are. The people needing educated are the viewers, the ones who listen to the lies and don’t realize they are lies. When Tony Perkins puts on a suit and goes on Anderson Cooper he is given legitimacy. When Maggie Gallagher is asked to testify before Congress she is elevated to the status of expert.
Micah Clark wrote a ridiculous attack on Indiana Youth Group – a local gay youth organization – that was published in the Indianapolis Star. I wrote a four page rebuttal – with sources – and posted a link to it in the comments section. I think that is going to be a more powerful method to counter the lies and distortions of these people: publicly refute what they say. Letting the suits do the work has amounted to very little in terms of progress as far as I can see. And as far as calling out these hate groups and individuals they are a massive fail in my humble opinion.
Instead of putting together information packets for the media GLAAD should be staffing itself with educated individuals who are better equipped to battle these professional bigots in the public arena. Again just my humble opinion.