GLAAD RELEASES ANALYSIS OF SEVEN TOP GEORGIA NEWS OUTLETS’ COVERAGE OF TRANSGENDER PEOPLE

GLAAD STUDY: ONLY 25 OF 95 STORIES ABOUT PROPOSED LEGISLATION OR OTHER OFFICIAL ACTIONS TARGETING TRANSGENDER PEOPLE INCLUDED A QUOTE FROM A TRANSGENDER PERSON; ONLY 9 OF THE 95 INCLUDED PROFESSIONALS WITH EXPERIENCE ON THE TOPIC

GLAAD: “It is imperative that media covering legislation and political campaigns include the voices of transgender people and center facts about lives and experiences. Reporters must take extra time to include the community, check facts, include context, and challenge what is being said and proposed.”

(August 12, 2025 – Atlanta, GA and New York, NY) GLAAD, the world’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) media advocacy organization, is releasing findings of an analysis of news coverage of the Georgia Legislature’s 13 bills targeting transgender people.

The legislature passed three bills restricting the rights of transgender Georgians and targeting allies. GLAAD’s analysis noted coverage from seven top outlets from the start of the legislative session in January to mid-May, following its conclusion in April, and whether the stories included transgender voices, parents of transgender youth, and adequate context to fact-check and counter harmful rhetoric, finding:

• Only 25 of 95 stories included at least one quote by a transgender person or a parent of a transgender youth.
• 30 of the 95 stories included context to contrast inaccurate rhetoric.

Full results from the study, here.

Downloadable graphics of the GLAAD study findings are available here.

About GLAAD’s Survey

GLAAD evaluated 95 stories from seven top media outlets in Georgia in order to:

1. assess how top tier news outlets are reporting on anti-transgender actions taken by elected leaders and
2. assess whether and how top news outlets are including the transgender community in conversations about proposals and rhetoric from by public officials.

In the recent legislative session, Georgia lawmakers passed three bills targeting transgender people and youth to include school participation in sports (SB1), denial of necessary medical care for transgender inmates (SB185), and a bill allowing discrimination based on religious exemption (SB36), all signed into law by Gov. Brian Kemp.

GLAAD’s analysis found:

• Only 25 of 95 stories included at least one quote by a transgender person or a parent of a transgender youth.
• 30 of the 95 stories included some degree of context to contrast bill proponents’ inaccurate and harmful rhetoric.
• 42 of the 95 stories that did not include a transgender person also did not include a quote from an lesbian, gay, bisexual or queer person or LGBTQ organization.
• Only 9 of the 95 stories included quotes from professionals with experience in the topics being discussed.

“The importance of local media in covering elected officials accurately cannot be overstated, especially when it comes to rhetoric and policy targeting marginalized people,” said GLAAD’s Director of Local News: U.S. South, Darian Aaron. “It is imperative that media covering legislation and political campaigns include the voices of transgender people and center facts about lives and experiences. Reporters must take extra time to include the community, check facts, include context, and challenge what is being said and proposed.”

“Empowering transgender people to speak to the current anti-trans narrative portraying our humanity as illegitimate will help dispel the fear amplified across polarizing echo chambers attempting to vilify our existence,” said Gabrielle Claiborne, Atlanta-based transgender advocate and CEO of Transformation Journeys Worldwide. “Reporters have a responsibility to push back on inaccuracies that inflict harm on the transgender community by centering our voices as a part of the solution.”

Mixed Results

 Transgender voices or parents of transgender children were included in the stories of the following outlets:

• 11Alive: 2 of 7 stories
• Atlanta Journal Constitution: 4 of 23 stories
• Capitol Beat: 2 of 16 stories
• Georgia Recorder: 8 of 18 stories
• Georgia Associated Press: 2 of 7 stories
• Macon Telegraph: 4 of 13 stories
• Savannah Morning News: 2 of 11 stories

Best Practices Reporting

Outlets covering state legislation and any targeting of transgender people 1

• Seek and include transgender voices in stories about transgender people.
• Center facts over rhetoric. A quote from a transgender person is essential, andfacts should be included that contrast or challenge elected official rhetoric.
• Include context and consequences on impacted communities.
• Verify and ask for evidence of statements made by elected officials rather than leaving it to readers/viewers to decide what is fact or fiction for themselves.
• Terms to avoid: “Gender ideology,” “transgenderism,” “biological boy/girl.” These are inaccurate terms not used by transgender people or the medical community. They are terms used to dehumanize trans people and undermine authentic identity.

Additional background:

According to the William’s Institute Georgia is home to more than 57,000 transgender people.

GALLUP: 9.3% of Americans identify as LGBTQ

GLAAD has documented 317+ attacks in policy and rhetoric from the Trump administration via the Trump Accountability Tracker

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