NEW YORK – The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) has announced the launch of its Commentator Accountability Project. 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.
“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 has launched with a comprehensive set of online resources detailing the anti-LGBT, racist, and anti-women 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.”
The Commentator Accountability Project highlights individuals like Bryan Fischer, director of issues analysis for the American Family Association, who has been quoted as saying, “The homosexual agenda represents the single greatest modern threat to freedom of religion and conscience.”
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.
