One Year Since 100+ LGBTQ Organizations and Notables Called Out New York Times’ Inaccurate, Biased Coverage of Transgender People: What has changed?

“The New York Times’ inaccurate, irresponsible coverage of the transgender community is regularly utilized by extremist lawmakers to justify taking away best practice health care from youth. The Times has continued down its path of ignoring the trans community, their healthcare providers, and medical experts.

As the Times continues down this path, they become more irrelevant every day.”

February 15, 2024 – One year ago today, a coalition of more than 100 LGBTQ organizations and notables called out the New York Times’ pattern of publishing inaccurate, biased pieces about transgender people that are regularly used by extremist lawmakers and extremist organizations in court as justification for banning trans people from accessing best practice medical care. GLAAD, the world’s largest LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer) media advocacy organization, was among those in the coalition demanding better from the Times. 

To date, the coalition has not received a response from the Times. The coalition had three asks of the newspaper, none of which appear to have been met. A digital billboard is stationed in front of the New York Times Headquarters today echoing these messages. Photos/videos available via press@glaad.org.

Demands from the 100+ organizations and notables (full list below) signed onto coalition letter on February 15, 2023:

1. Stop printing biased anti-trans stories, immediately.
2. Listen to trans people: hold a meeting with trans community leaders within two months.
3. Hire at least four full-time trans writers and editors within three months.

Statement from GLAAD President & CEO Sarah Kate Ellis:

“The New York Times’ inaccurate, irresponsible coverage of the transgender community is regularly utilized by extremist lawmakers to justify taking away best practice health care from youth. The Times has continued down its path of ignoring the trans community, their healthcare providers, and medical experts.

They have not taken our coalition up on our offer to meet with leaders from the trans community, nor have they hired any trans journalists full time, and have gone so far as to discipline their employees for bringing up valid and accurate critique of the newspaper’s trans coverage.

As the Times continues down this path, they become more irrelevant every day. We remain eager to meet with the Times to help correct these coverage failures.”

Trans journalists Erin Reed and Evan Urquhart issued a comprehensive takedown of the Times’ most recent biased, inaccurate piece on trans healthcare here. Medical expert Dr. Jack Turban also weighed in to correct disinformation in that piece here.

Immediately after the last biased, inaccurate piece in the Times, it was cited in an anti-trans legal brief by the extremist Alliance Defending Freedom, a SPLC-designated hate group.

A January 2024 expose by The Flaw magazine looked at the Times’ “distinct culpability” in the paper’s ongoing trans coverage, citing journalist  Maximillian Alvarez: “the Times knows damn well that its articles are being cited in state legislatures around the country as justification for the hundreds of genocidal, anti-trans anti-queer bills that are being introduced left and right.”

Note that despite claims made by the Times in an effort to discredit their own contributors, the coalition letter was a wholly separate effort from a letter on the same topic signed by more than 1,000 Times contributors last February.

Additional response to the Times’ irresponsible, biased coverage includes:

• Pamela Paul Shows NYT Opinion’s Lack of Accountability to the Truth (Assigned Media 2/2024) https://www.assignedmedia.org/breaking-news/pamela-paul-shows-opinion-is-opinion-is-opinion 
• Debunked: Misleading NYT Anti-Trans Article By Pamela Paul Relies On Pseudoscience (Erin In The Morning, 2/2024) https://www.erininthemorning.com/p/debunked-misleading-nyt-anti-trans 
• The NYT’s Latest Op-Ed on Trans Kids Has Already Been Cited in an Anti-Trans Legal Brief (Them, 2/2024) https://www.them.us/story/new-york-times-detransition-youth-op-ed-pamela-paul-chase-strangio 
• Profiting From Moral Panic: How Profit-Driven Media Outlets Empowered the Anti-Trans Movement (The Flaw, 1/2024) https://theflaw.org/articles/profiting-from-moral-panic/  
• NYT’s Anti-Trans Bias—by the Numbers (FAIR, 4/2023) https://fair.org/home/nyts-anti-trans-bias-by-the-numbers/ 
• NYT Investigation Offers Biased Reporting on Puberty Blocker Concerns (Assigned Media, 11/2023) https://www.assignedmedia.org/breaking-news/nyt-investigation-finds-concerns-about-puberty-blockers-for-trans-youth?rq=NYT 
• The New York Times was criticized for its reporting on trans issues. Good. (USA Today, 2/2023) https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/health-wellness/2023/02/20/transgender-people-new-york-times-debacle/11264346002/ 
• I Signed A Critical NYT Trans Letter. Their Response Is Insulting. (Erin In the Morning, 2/2023) https://www.erininthemorning.com/p/i-signed-a-critical-nyt-trans-letter 
• The New York Times helped fuel an anti-trans panic in 2022. Will 2023 be any better? (Media Matters, 2/2023) https://www.mediamatters.org/new-york-times/new-york-times-helped-fuel-anti-trans-panic-2022-will-2023-be-any-better
• The New York Times Declares War on LGBTQ People With Hire of Anti-Trans Columnist (The Present Age, 1/2023) https://www.readtpa.com/p/david-french-nyt-anti-lgbtq
• The Worst Thing We Read This Week: Why Is the New York Times So Obsessed With Trans Kids? (Popula, 1/2023) https://popula.com/2023/01/29/the-worst-thing-we-read-this-week-why-is-the-new-york-times-so-obsessed-with-trans-kids/
• Uncompromising Transphobe David French Hired by NYT Opinion (Assigned Media, 1/2023) https://www.assignedmedia.org/breaking-news/uncompromising-transphobic-christian-writer-david-french-to-write-for-nyt
• Pamela Paul’s Gender Agenda (FAIR, 12/2022) https://fair.org/home/pamela-pauls-gender-agenda/
• The NYT’s Big Piece on Puberty Blockers Mucked Up the Most Important Point About Them  (Slate, 11/2022) https://slate.com/technology/2022/11/puberty-blockers-side-effects-controversy.html
• Reckless NY Times reporting fuels disinformation about trans youth (LGBTQ Nation, 11/2022) https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2022/11/reckless-ny-times-reporting-fuels-disinformation-trans-youth/
• The New York Times Posts Another Misinformed, Deranged Story About Trans Youth (Into, 09/2022) https://www.intomore.com/advocacy/new-york-times-posts-another-misinformed-deranged-story-trans-youth/
• Nobody is trying to ban the word “woman” (The Present Age, 7/20220) https://www.readtpa.com/p/woman
• The Times Published Some Transphobic BS Over the Weekend (Them, 7/2022) https://www.them.us/story/new-york-times-op-ed-women-gender-inclusive-language-misogyny-trans-rights
• Why Does the ‘New York Times’ Feel the Need To Inject Transphobia Into the Fight for Abortion Access? (The Mary Sue, 6/2022) https://www.themarysue.com/new-york-times-transphobic-abortion-article/

Full list of signers to the coalition letter:

Accountable for Equality

Advocates for Youth

Alaskans Together For Equality

Alejandra Caraballo

Ali Forney Center

Alok Vaid-Menon

Amber and Adam Briggle

amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research

Amy Schneider 

Arianna’s Center

Arkansas Black Gay Men’s Forum

Ashlee Marie Preston

Athlete Ally

Aydian Dowling

Basic Rights Oregon

Blair Imani

Braunwyn Windham-Burke

Britt Tanner

Cassils

CenterLink: The Community of LGBT Centers

Center on Halsted

Charlotte Clymer

Christian Fuscarino

Chris Mosier

City of Milwaukee Equal Rights Commission

Diverse and Resilient

Dr. David J. Johns

Dr. Dorian Rhea Debussy

Dylan Mulvaney

Equality Arizona

Equality California

Equality Delaware, Inc.

Equality Federation

Equality Florida

Equality New Mexico

Equality New York

Equality North Carolina

Equality Ohio

Equality South Dakota

Equality Texas

Equality Virginia

EqualityMaine

Equitas Health

Erin Reed

Ethan Cole

Fair Wisconsin

Fairness Campaign

Family Equality

FEMINIST

Feminist Bird Club

Feminist Majority Foundation

Florida LGBTQ+ Democratic Caucus

Freedom Oklahoma

Gabrielle Union-Wade

Garden State Equality

Gender Justice

Gen-Z for Change

Georgia Equality

GLAAD

GLSEN

GMHC

GSAFE

Hannah Gadsby

Heather Dubrow

Helen Boyd & Rachel Crowl

Human Rights Campaign

It Gets Better Project

Jack Ketsoyan

Jameela Jamil

Jazz Jennings

Jen Grosshandler

Jen Richards

Jessica Garcia

Jessica Herthel

Joey Soloway

Johnny Sibilly

Jonathan Van Ness

Josh Helfgott

Judd Apatow

Ken Phillips

Keshet: For LGBTQ equality in Jewish life

Kit Mee Kuen Yan

Lavender Rights Project

Lena Dunham

Lina Bradford

Louisiana Trans Advocates

Maeve DuVally

Maine Transgender Network

Marci Bowers, MD

Margaret Cho

Marti Cummings

Mass Equality

Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition

Matt Wolf

Matthew Shepard Foundation

Melanie Willingham-Jaggers

Melissa Li

Melissa Sklarz

Milwaukee LGBT Community Center

Mixed Media Works

Montana Human Rights Network

Ms. magazine

National Black Justice Coalition

National LGBTQ Task Force

National Women’s Law Center 

Nefesh Los Angeles

New York City’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center

Nina West

NYC Pride

One Colorado

One Iowa

One Iowa Action

Out Boulder County

OutCasting Media – public radio’s LGBTQ youth program

Out Montclair

OutFront Minnesota

OutNebraska

OutReach LGBTQ+ Community Center

ParentsTogether

Partnership To End AIDS Status Inc.

Paul Feig

Peppermint

PFLAG Mt. Horeb

PFLAG National

PFLAG Newport Beach

Pittsburgh Lesbian Correspondents blog

Pittsburgh LGBTQ Charities

Point of Pride

Pride Foundation

Precious Brady-Davis

Producer Entertainment Group

QUEERSPACE collective

Queer Liberation Library

Rabbi Amichai Lau-Lavie

Rabbi Bonnie Margulis

Rabbi Daniel Bogard

Rabbi Susan Goldberg

Rainbow Democrats

Rainbow Families Bay Area

Raquel Willis

Robyn Ochs

SAGE

San Francisco LGBTQ Center

Shakina

Southern Legal Counsel

Stonewall Democratic Club of NYC

Supermajority

Tennessee Equality Project

The GenderCool Project

The Hetrick Martin Institute

The Media and Democracy Project

The Normal Anomaly Initiative, Inc.

The Rt. Rev. V. Gene Robinson, IX Bishop of New Hampshire (ret.), The Episcopal Church

The Sacred Cloth Project

The Transformation Project

The Woodhull Freedom Foundation

Tommy Dorfman

TRANSATHLETE

Transgender Education Network of Texas

Transgender Law Center

Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund

Transinclusive Group

Trans Journalists Association

TransOhio

UltraViolet

Victoria Kirby York

WCB PFLAG

Wilson Cruz

Wisconsin Coalition Against Sexual Assault

Women’s March

World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH)

Zackary Drucker