How Right-Wing Media Promoted Florida's 'Don't Say Gay' Legislation
When right-wing Florida legislators and Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis got the infamous “don’t say gay” legislation passed, they had plenty of help from conservative media outlets and influencers, which then amplified DeSantis’s message once he signed the measure into law.Key to the effort was Libs of TikTok, a Twitter account run by anti-LGBTQ+ activist Chaya Raichik, according to a new analysis by the Daily Dot.
The analysis is based on nearly 900 pages of documents the site acquired through a public records request, plus articles and tweets.
They demonstrate the significance of Libs of TikTok in getting the legislation through, the site reports.There were numerous interactions between Libs of TikTok and DeSantis’s press secretary, Christina Pushaw, who notoriously described the “don’t say gay” legislation as an “anti-grooming bill.” Pushaw and Raichik “interacted on Twitter over 100 times” between June 2021 and April of this year, the Daily Dot notes, citing a Media Matters report.
Pushaw said Libs of TikTok “truly opened my eyes” on what’s being taught about LGBTQ+ issues in schools.For instance, Libs of TikTok shared information about a private preschool in Florida having children switch caps of markers, an exercise that was meant to teach that a person’s outside appearance doesn’t always reflect their reality.
