Instagram is allowing accounts to spew hate at LGBTQ people, while also claiming to support the community
Written by Camden Carter
Research contributions from Kayla Gogarty
Published
Instagram is allowing accounts with tens of thousands of followers to target the LGBTQ community, even though the platform claims it has policies against hate speech as well as bullying and harassment, and its parent company Meta has been publicly promoting its platforms as a safe space for LGBTQ users.
Instagram’s guidelines claim the platform wants “to foster a positive, diverse community,” while also noting that it removes content that contains “credible threats or hate speech, content that targets private individuals to degrade or shame them.” During Pride Month, Meta announced it was “celebrating pride” by launching Pride-themed stickers and avatars, a Global LGBTQ+ Cultural Guide, and an LGBTQ+ Safety Hub.
Despite Meta’s newly announced resources, Instagram has allowed its users to spread propaganda against the LGBTQ community — and even against the same individuals it’s publicly celebrating. In several cases, these are accounts dedicated to targeting LGBTQ people, while in others, these are accounts of right-wing media outlets and personalities who also push anti-LGBTQ rhetoric. Many of these posts seem to violate Meta’s policies.
Recently, right wing media have been ramping up their rhetoric against the LGBTQ community, especially trans people. This increase in anti-LGBTQ hate has coincided with a wave of new legislation aimed at limiting the rights of LGBTQ people. The false narratives right-wing figures are spinning to support these bills are being projected through online platforms and news outlets and have already led to real-world harm.
Here are some examples of accounts who push anti-LGBTQ content on Instagram:
- One account which goes by the handle Garbage Human has multiple backup accounts, with a total of over 180,000 total followers across all accounts. On its main account, it frequently posts content intended to incite mocking and hateful comments about its subjects, who are often LGBTQ people. Media Matters has reported on this account and other similar accounts in the past, showing that the way they operate allows them to strategically avoid Instagram’s content moderation, while creating a space for the accumulation of hate speech. One of the accounts earned over 1.5 million interactions on 225 posts in the month of June alone — according to data from CrowdTangle.
![A picture of a street sign showing various gender identities and sexual orientations was posted by this account. Several users mocked it in the comments.](https://cloudfront.mediamatters.org/styles/scale_w1024/s3/static/D8Image/2022/07/05/garbage human 1.jpg?VersionId=Kh2.507s7nEo8EVWUEl8eFZPaNZFhDr7&itok=8a7AUi3V)
![A post of a screenshot of a post from the New England Patriots, stating that there is not room for hate in their comments. The caption of this posts states that there is room for hate in the comments of this Instagram account.](https://cloudfront.mediamatters.org/styles/scale_w1024/s3/static/D8Image/2022/07/05/garbage human 2.jpg?VersionId=sIgGKRIdKsfNXbqZhLssbDM.9dBMcOI9&itok=1DwdDTci)
![A post of an article about a transgender paramedic who said patients refuse her help. Users mock the subject of the post in the comments.](https://cloudfront.mediamatters.org/styles/scale_w1024/s3/static/D8Image/2022/07/05/garbage human 3.jpg?VersionId=IWQDpYqUa3LJsV6u19GB6SLDl9vU_XT1&itok=FPrDKe40)
![A meme claiming that allowing gay marriage was a "slippery slope" to allowing teachers to choose the gender of children](https://cloudfront.mediamatters.org/styles/scale_w1024/s3/static/D8Image/2022/07/05/garbage human 4.jpg?VersionId=hq2CtWAWh6SvCjMFjTtQhAWFmM_tlpdV&itok=A8q91UwX)
- Notorious for targeting schools, Pride events, and individuals on Twitter, Libs of TikTok has also gained a large following of nearly 200,000 on Instagram, where it posts much of the same content and plays a large role in driving the false “groomer” narrative. During Pride Month, Libs of TikTok posted 91 times, earning close to 700,000 interactions on Instagram.
![Libs of TikTok claims a preschool teaching is showing "grooming behavior"](https://cloudfront.mediamatters.org/styles/scale_w1024/s3/static/D8Image/2022/07/05/libsoftiktok 2.jpg?VersionId=Jv.UMq.hS2gfFgZBlUTbI1.J7g9IgMoA&itok=fsD5wkiL)
![Libs of TikTok posted a video of a person in a dress singing. Users ridiculed them in the comment section.](https://cloudfront.mediamatters.org/styles/scale_w1024/s3/static/D8Image/2022/07/05/libsoftiktok 3.jpg?VersionId=NiX827Rzn0J3pTVzLWIuVWU4ynsvC_zb&itok=ifPVvR2x)
- Gays Against Groomers is a new account that has accumulated over 57,000 followers since it was created on June 6 and has earned just over 140,000 interactions on its 33 Instagram posts in June. This account claims to represent “a coalition of gays against the sexualization and indoctrination of children,” thus far using its platform to post content that demonizes trans people and push far-right narratives.
![A post from Twitter, claiming that "pride month = groomer month"](https://cloudfront.mediamatters.org/styles/scale_w1024/s3/static/D8Image/2022/07/05/gag 1.jpg?VersionId=lGIEC6bOuriiTMVrMZhQM_QGxmPPLHxs&itok=j-cqYoha)
![A post of an article about attempts to shut down a drag queen story hour. The caption of the post refers to this as "attempts to prevent the sexualization of children"](https://cloudfront.mediamatters.org/styles/scale_w1024/s3/static/D8Image/2022/07/05/gag 2.jpg?VersionId=IrQOfwoLhN1qUyO15Y6VlwoNcG7PUsVe&itok=4aebDu77)
![A post from Gays Against Groomers Twitter account claiming that "if the Alphabet mafia encourages it, it's harmful to children"](https://cloudfront.mediamatters.org/styles/scale_w1024/s3/static/D8Image/2022/07/05/gag 3.jpg?VersionId=LGWuDYSnyYUw6z6BfK76JA8cDAufTdmz&itok=-9Afh_Br)
![A post claiming that giving gays the right to get married lead to more trans kids](https://cloudfront.mediamatters.org/styles/scale_w1024/s3/static/D8Image/2022/07/05/gag 4_0.jpg?VersionId=mRaEUf2Rdu9RqVmt6I5I7rhcnDDYLzGt&itok=iYc9Bhy_)
- The creator of Gays Against Groomers, Jaimee Michell, has ties to Arsenal Media — a media group that helps conservative politicians “go viral.” She has also built a significant Instagram following of her own by branding herself as an outspoken right-wing lesbian and pushing anti-trans rhetoric. While Michell’s main account has recently gone private, preventing Media Matters from determining her total interactions for June, it appears that she posted at least 24 times.
![A post from thegaywhostrayed about a show on discovery plus about drag. She refers to it as "entertainment for groomers by groomers."](https://cloudfront.mediamatters.org/styles/scale_w1024/s3/static/D8Image/2022/07/05/Jaimee 2.jpg?VersionId=g4vGMMM_plrJxa1rz1vfX6.jMxFh14Gp&itok=wkmX71LH)
![A post from Michell which portrays the idea that "gender is a construct" as "logic that literally doesn't even make sense"](https://cloudfront.mediamatters.org/styles/scale_w1024/s3/static/D8Image/2022/07/05/jaimee 1.jpg?VersionId=0B4F6QK2KBN60FvKTD4F68mdfTdvs.O6&itok=SfID90RI)
![A post of an article about Republican lawmakers wanting to make it illegal to bring a child to a drag show. Users agree in the comments.](https://cloudfront.mediamatters.org/styles/scale_w1024/s3/static/D8Image/2022/07/05/jaimee 3.jpg?VersionId=gbOXa3NrOufy7AE1kwQByhZ8sUyUSwLx&itok=OUi5Mfh9)
![a post from Michell quoting Allie Stuckey, calling those who teach kids about gender "perverts."](https://cloudfront.mediamatters.org/styles/scale_w1024/s3/static/D8Image/2022/07/05/jaimee 4.jpg?VersionId=LVNbT61iaWz3WzBksfBHpOXkCBhHHFaq&itok=9tJEc1re)
- David Leatherwood, who also has ties to Arsenal Media, has also used Instagram to attack transgender people, calling them “groomers.” During Pride Month, Leatherwood posted 16 times and earned over 32,000 interactions. In one of the examples below, Leatherwood uses a photo of a cisgender woman at a burlesque show to reinforce this false narrative. LGBTQ Nation has previously reported on the misinformation around the photo and its use by conservatives to fearmonger about drag shows.
![A Story post of a tween from Biden stating that "we have your back" to LGBTQ youth. Leatherwood commented "OK groomer"](https://cloudfront.mediamatters.org/styles/scale_w1024/s3/static/D8Image/2022/07/05/david 5.jpg?VersionId=L6xK_KE74kwMujpFQbHh3hZ2pJRPxN8K&itok=4S7zsL4Y)
![A image of a burlesque show with the words "gays against groomers" and "we promise we're not all like this" over it.](https://cloudfront.mediamatters.org/styles/scale_w1024/s3/static/D8Image/2022/07/05/david 1.jpg?VersionId=Cll3heyxBOR6CFghI7OopVxDJ_N3XHPm&itok=74E5gT1M)
![An image of a person dressed as a dog holding a firearm, with the words "say my pronouns, bigot".](https://cloudfront.mediamatters.org/styles/scale_w1024/s3/static/D8Image/2022/07/05/david 3.jpg?VersionId=WuaA_5f.Nsu6PdDNcD8QhznvpZuQ9yNn&itok=azcCDWnz)
- Conservative commentator Allie Beth Stuckey and The Daily Wire’s Ben Shapiro and Matt Walsh (who used the platform to promote his anti-trans film What is a Woman?), with over 5 million followers between them, have been permitted to post content containing hate-fueled lies about the LGBTQ community, driving attention and engagement through their often-extreme rhetoric.
![A post from Matt Walsh claiming that Target selling binders is the same as Walgreens selling laxatives](https://cloudfront.mediamatters.org/styles/scale_w1024/s3/static/D8Image/2022/07/05/matt walsh 1.jpg?VersionId=6jI8Fol0zpES8Baz8E5EESQ0tZ_pqZJv&itok=dCo9yhAY)
![Ben Shapiro claims Disney is pushing a "not-at-all-secret gay agenda"](https://cloudfront.mediamatters.org/styles/scale_w1024/s3/static/D8Image/2022/07/05/ben shaprio 1.jpg?VersionId=Cl6Ak_crRgZp.stWsLtY8.Vz4dDCMltC&itok=k2lAmxdN)
![A screenshot of a video posted to Stuckey's Instagram](https://cloudfront.mediamatters.org/styles/scale_w1024/s3/static/D8Image/2022/07/05/allie 1.jpg?VersionId=J5mxQiAJwdhsFxdiPVGFdBTvsdcurTV.&itok=GwL9r0_G)
- Conservative outlets and organizations such as The Babylon Bee — which was suspended from Twitter for intentionally misgendering U.S. Assistant Secretary for Health Rachel Levine — have been allowed to remain on the platform. The Bee’s CEO Seth Dillion also remains on Instagram despite frequent anti-trans posts. Similarly, PragerU, a right-wing propaganda network that also has a history of using social media to spread misinformation about transgender people, uses Instagram to share its anti-LGBTQ content.
![A satirical post from the Babylon Bee about Rachel Levine being confirmed as a women by the disinformation board](https://cloudfront.mediamatters.org/styles/scale_w1024/s3/static/D8Image/2022/07/05/bee 1.jpg?VersionId=7vqeIKvdyfTcUYkc1vBzXAGKK1ZSOCn8&itok=3a02G4rH)
![A post from the Babylon Bee joking that people who bring their kids to drag shows should "yeet himself into the ocean"](https://cloudfront.mediamatters.org/styles/scale_w1024/s3/static/D8Image/2022/07/05/bee 4.jpg?VersionId=4GdrpzSzTi1Tjp_2nm0t7CnRSAXG2U0t&itok=Caf28a6v)
![Seth Dillion posts about kids who celebrate a parent who is trans on fathers day as being guilty of hateful conduct](https://cloudfront.mediamatters.org/styles/scale_w1024/s3/static/D8Image/2022/07/05/dillon 1.jpg?VersionId=zGzjPW.kPovuBSGzo1o6eDlYiLh98_6q&itok=YlpW3mXx)
![Dillion claims that Disney is about dark magic and its trying to "turn little boys into girls and vice versa"](https://cloudfront.mediamatters.org/styles/scale_w1024/s3/static/D8Image/2022/07/05/dillon 3.jpg?VersionId=6T7_iLV.Q1dtYmNr4XUUIvy41_YG_qSK&itok=FXxTEieX)
![A post from pragerU about a book for children about pronouns, implying that it is inappropriate](https://cloudfront.mediamatters.org/styles/scale_w1024/s3/static/D8Image/2022/07/05/prageru 1.jpg?VersionId=0rX6tlToCOG0kdS3DwSxYntPZI.Hijqu&itok=_n-JBPCn)
![PragerU posts an article about how to talk to your kids about pride, claiming that they need to let kids be kids and saying #groomer](https://cloudfront.mediamatters.org/styles/scale_w1024/s3/static/D8Image/2022/07/05/prageru 2.jpg?VersionId=Id.Cma34lnQyVPq6m7Tcdnf_CF7X81Cb&itok=m0hO6Ka0)
While some queer users are profitable for Instagram, especially during the month of June, its ongoing failure to address accounts actively spreading harmful rhetoric against the LGBTQ community make the platform’s “Happy Pride” messaging hollow. Once again, Meta is showing that it will prioritize the engagement that these high-profile right-wing accounts generated through hateful, lie-filled content, even when it leads to real-world harm and the degradation of LGBTQ rights and safety.