USA: Misinformation Chips Away at LGBTQ Acceptance

Public acceptance of LGBTQ people in the US has declined over the past year, driven by a growing climate of misinformation and fearmongering.

According to GLAAD’s 2024 annual Accelerating Acceptance Study, a significant 80% of Americans still support equal rights for LGBTQ people.

However, this marks a drop from a record high of 84% just a year ago. While the change is not dramatic, there are concerns that it could indicate a worrying downward trend.

The study also found that 70% of LGBTQ Gen Z adults (those born between the late 1990s and early 2010s) reported experiencing discrimination based on their sexual orientation.

LGBTQ adults also reported negative impacts on their mental health, fear for their safety, and harassment both online and in real life as a result of the current political discourse in the country.

“While acceptance for LGBTQ people remains at supermajority levels, this year’s data also sounds substantial alarms about threats to this progress and to freedoms valued by every American,” commented GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis.

“The same extremist lawmakers, judges, and media sources targeting abortion access, contraception, free and fair elections, and free speech are using similar strategies of fear and disinformation to undermine LGBTQ people and our equality,” she said.

The research also examined the positive impact of LGBTQ representation.

According to the study, non-LGBTQ adults who see LGBTQ people in entertainment media and advertising are more comfortable interacting with LGBTQ people in various scenarios in life.

This included a 35% increase in feeling comfortable learning that a family member is LGBTQ and a 29% increase in feeling comfortable working with LGBTQ people.

The Accelerating Acceptance Study was conducted online in January 2024 among a national sample of 2,511 US adults aged 18 or over. The data were weighted to ensure the results represent the adult US population.