Imran Ahmed, the founder of the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), giving evidence to joint committee seeking views on how to improve the draft Online Safety Bill designed to tackle social media abuse. Credit: House of Commons – PA Images / Contributor | PA Images
Imran Ahmed’s biggest thorn in his side used to be Elon Musk, who made the hate speech researcher one of his earliest legal foes during his Twitter takeover.
Now, it’s the Trump administration, which planned to deport Ahmed, a legal permanent resident, just before Christmas. It would then ban him from returning to the United States, where he lives with his wife and young child, both US citizens.
After suing US officials to block any attempted arrest or deportation, Ahmed was quickly granted a temporary restraining order on Christmas Day. Ahmed had successfully argued that he risked irreparable harm without the order, alleging that Trump officials continue “to abuse the immigration system to punish and punitively detain noncitizens for protected speech and silence viewpoints with which it disagrees” and confirming that his speech had been chilled.
US officials are attempting to sanction Ahmed seemingly due to his work as the founder of a British-American non-governmental organization, the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH).
“An egregious act of government censorship”
In a shocking announcement last week, Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed that five individuals—described as “radical activists” and leaders of “weaponized NGOs”—would face US visa bans since “their entry, presence, or activities in the United States have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences” for the US.
Nobody was named in that release, but Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy, Sarah Rogers, later identified the targets in an X post she currently has pinned to the top of her feed.
Alongside Ahmed, sanctioned individuals included former European commissioner for the internal market, Thierry Breton; the leader of UK-based Global Disinformation Index (GDI), Clare Melford; and co-leaders of Germany-based HateAid, Anna-Lena von Hodenberg and Josephine Ballon. A GDI spokesperson told The Guardian that the visa bans are “an authoritarian attack on free speech and an egregious act of government censorship.”
While all targets were scrutinized for supporting some of the European Union’s strictest tech regulations, including the Digital Services Act (DSA), Ahmed was further accused of serving as a “key collaborator with the Biden Administration’s effort to weaponize the government against US citizens.” As evidence of Ahmed’s supposed threat to US foreign policy, Rogers cited a CCDH report flagging Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. among the so-called “disinformation dozen” driving the most vaccine hoaxes on social media.
Neither official has really made it clear what exact threat these individuals pose if operating from within the US, as opposed to from anywhere else in the world. Echoing Rubio’s press release, Rogers wrote that the sanctions would reinforce a “red line,” supposedly ending “extraterritorial censorship of Americans” by targeting the “censorship-NGO ecosystem.”
For Ahmed’s group, specifically, she pointed to Musk’s failed lawsuit, which accused CCDH of illegally scraping Twitter—supposedly, it offered evidence of extraterritorial censorship. That lawsuit surfaced “leaked documents” allegedly showing that CCDH planned to “kill Twitter” by sharing research that could be used to justify big fines under the DSA or the UK’s Online Safety Act. Following that logic, seemingly any group monitoring misinformation or sharing research that lawmakers weigh when implementing new policies could be maligned as seeking mechanisms to censor platforms.
Notably, CCDH won its legal fight with Musk after a judge mocked X’s legal argument as “vapid” and dismissed the lawsuit as an obvious attempt to punish CCDH for exercising free speech that Musk didn’t like.
In his complaint last week, Ahmed alleged that US officials were similarly encroaching on his First Amendment rights by unconstitutionally wielding immigration law as “a tool to punish noncitizen speakers who express views disfavored by the current administration.”
Both Rubio and Rogers are named as defendants in the suit, as well as Attorney General Pam Bondi, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, and Acting Director of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement Todd Lyons. In a loss, officials would potentially not only be forced to vacate Rubio’s actions implementing visa bans, but also possibly stop furthering a larger alleged Trump administration pattern of “targeting noncitizens for removal based on First Amendment protected speech.”
Lawsuit may force Rubio to justify visa bans
For Ahmed, securing the temporary restraining order was urgent, as he was apparently the only target currently located in the US when Rubio’s announcement dropped. In a statement provided to Ars, Ahmed’s attorney, Roberta Kaplan, suggested that the order was granted “so quickly because it is so obvious that Marco Rubio and the other defendants’ actions were blatantly unconstitutional.”
Ahmed founded CCDH in 2019, hoping to “call attention to the enormous problem of digitally driven disinformation and hate online.” According to the suit, he became particularly concerned about antisemitism online while living in the United Kingdom in 2016, having watched “the far-right party, Britain First,” launching “the dangerous conspiracy theory that the EU was attempting to import Muslims and Black people to ‘destroy’ white citizens.” That year, a Member of Parliament and Ahmed’s colleague, Jo Cox, was “shot and stabbed in a brutal politically motivated murder, committed by a man who screamed ‘Britain First’” during the attack. That tragedy motivated Ahmed to start CCDH.
He moved to the US in 2021 and was granted a green card in 2024, starting his family and continuing to lead CCDH efforts monitoring not just Twitter/X, but also Meta platforms, TikTok, and, more recently, AI chatbots. In addition to supporting the DSA and UK’s Online Safety Act, his group has supported US online safety laws and Section 230 reforms intended to protect kids online.
“Mr. Ahmed studies and engages in civic discourse about the content moderation policies of major social media companies in the United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Union,” his lawsuit said. “There is no conceivable foreign policy impact from his speech acts whatsoever.”
In his complaint, Ahmed alleged that Rubio has so far provided no evidence that Ahmed poses such a great threat that he must be removed. He argued that “applicable statutes expressly prohibit removal based on a noncitizen’s ‘past, current, or expected beliefs, statements, or associations.’”
According to DHS guidance from 2021 cited in the suit, “A noncitizen’ s exercise of their First Amendment rights … should never be a factor in deciding to take enforcement action.”
To prevent deportation based solely on viewpoints, Rubio was supposed to notify chairs of the House Foreign Affairs, Senate Foreign Relations, and House and Senate Judiciary Committees, to explain what “compelling US foreign policy interest” would be compromised if Ahmed or others targeted with visa bans were to enter the US. But there’s no evidence Rubio took those steps, Ahmed alleged.
“The government has no power to punish Mr. Ahmed for his research, protected speech, and advocacy, and Defendants cannot evade those constitutional limitations by simply claiming that Mr. Ahmed’s presence or activities have ‘potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States,’” a press release from his legal team said. “There is no credible argument for Mr. Ahmed’s immigration detention, away from his wife and young child.”
X lawsuit offers clues to Trump officials’ defense
To some critics, it looks like the Trump administration is going after CCDH in order to take up the fight that Musk already lost. In his lawsuit against CCDH, Musk’s X echoed US Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) by suggesting that CCDH was a “foreign dark money group” that allowed “foreign interests” to attempt to “influence American democracy.” It seems likely that US officials will put forward similar arguments in their CCDH fight.
Rogers’ X post offers some clues that the State Department will be mining Musk’s failed litigation to support claims of what it calls a “global censorship-industrial complex.” What she detailed suggested that the Trump administration plans to argue that NGOs like CCDH support strict tech laws, then conduct research bent on using said laws to censor platforms. That logic seems to ignore the reality that NGOs cannot control what laws get passed or enforced, Breton suggested in his first TV interview after his visa ban was announced.
Breton, whom Rogers villainized as the “mastermind” behind the DSA, urged EU officials to do more now defend their tough tech regulations—which Le Monde noted passed with overwhelming bipartisan support and very little far-right resistance—and fight the visa bans, Bloomberg reported.
“They cannot force us to change laws that we voted for democratically just to please [US tech companies],” Breton said. “No, we must stand up.”
While EU officials seemingly drag their feet, Ahmed is hoping that a judge will declare that all the visa bans that Rubio announced are unconstitutional. The temporary restraining order indicates there will be a court hearing Monday at which Ahmed will learn precisely “what steps Defendants have taken to impose visa restrictions and initiate removal proceedings against” him and any others. Until then, Ahmed remains in the dark on why Rubio deemed him as having “potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences” if he stayed in the US.
Ahmed, who argued that X’s lawsuit sought to chill CCDH’s research and alleged that the US attack seeks to do the same, seems confident that he can beat the visa bans.
“America is a great nation built on laws, with checks and balances to ensure power can never attain the unfettered primacy that leads to tyranny,” Ahmed said. “The law, clear-eyed in understanding right and wrong, will stand in the way of those who seek to silence the truth and empower the bold who stand up to power. I believe in this system, and I am proud to call this country my home. I will not be bullied away from my life’s work of fighting to keep children safe from social media’s harm and stopping antisemitism online. Onward.”
Ashley is a senior policy reporter for Ars Technica, dedicated to tracking social impacts of emerging policies and new technologies. She is a Chicago-based journalist with 20 years of experience.
Why I do these posts. This is three days of Joe My God that got away way from me. So why do I do these long news posts? Because I comb the Joe My God comment section for the best memes and snarkiest comments. It dawned on me I could post his news articles for those that want to read them. But three days is a lot to go throw and it is much easier just to quickly scan and snatch the comments rather than post them. So I need some inputs from everyone. Are these posts worth it? Or would you rather go to Joe My God yourselves. Or I can keep doing these. Up to you. Hugs
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tRumps Grifts / Scams / Ripping off the rubes / tRump’s ego / tRump’s Crimes / tRump’s health / Republican grifts & payouts for supporting tRump / other trump scammers
The Trump Golf Tracker estimates that the president’s golf trips have cost taxpayers some $110,600,000 so far in 2025. But that estimate, which was based on a 2019 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report on four golf trips during his first term, doesn’t even take into account the month of December.
The right wing media / the media arms of the GOP & Republican Party / The over the top thuggery and complete disrespect for common decency / Ask if you would like your child to act this way …. because maga does want their kids to be this crass as it makes them feel good / Kennedy Center debacle
The video was shared by Vice President JD Vance. FBI director Kash Patel said he is aware of the video and the FBI is investigating. The YouTuber says he is uncovering new fraud in Minnesota, but media outlets like KSTP reported more than a year ago about more than 62 investigations into Minnesota child care centers.
What this is really about is they are afraid Walz will run for office and win as he is so well liked. They are trying to gin up a fake scandal to Benghazi him like they did with Hillary Clinton. I posted yesterday how fake and full of lies / misinformation the “report” the YouTuber did was. In the article above this one you can see how the Republican Party had a hand in helping the right wing influencer to push a fake story. The state has been investigating these things for several years. Hugs
$175 billion for a “golden dome” that experts doubt would actually work, but only $2 billion in humanitarian aid for the United Nations. It’s what Jesus would want.
Space based weapons are forbidden by treaties that the US signed. That said do we have space based weapons … well I was sending commands somewhere for something when I was in the Army Sat coms / intel unit. You decide. Hugs
Maga hate fail / tRump lost in court / tRump supporters doing what they do not want you to know about / ICE lies / tRump’s DOJ / Misinformation / Trying to change history by spewing & omitting facts or what really happened
The emails, which were made public as part of a newly unsealed judicial order, largely reflected communications about the case that Robert E. McGuire, the acting U.S. attorney in Nashville, had with members of his staff and with Aakash Singh, a top official in Mr. Blanche’s office. They raised serious questions about whether the Justice Department had misled Judge Waverly D. Crenshaw Jr., who is overseeing the case, by telling him that local prosecutors had acted alone in charging Mr. Abrego Garcia.
Hate / Bigotry / DEI / White Supremacy / Christian Nationalism / US aid to only white countries or white dominated areas / US Healthcare / For Profit drug prices rip off the US public /
The civil probes are proceeding under the umbrella of the False Claims Act, which has traditionally been used to go after contractors who bill the government for work that was never performed or inflate the cost of services rendered.
The U.S. slashed its aid spending this year, and leading Western donors such as Germany also pared back assistance as they pivoted to increased defense spending, triggering a severe funding crunch for the United Nations.
U.N. data shows total U.S. humanitarian contributions to the U.N. fell to about $3.38 billion in 2025, equating to about 14.8% of the global sum. This was down sharply from $14.1 billion the prior year, and a peak of $17.2 billion in 2022.
The idea behind the legislation originated with the Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative Christian legal advocacy group that has gained prominence for its work to incorporate religion in public spaces.
West last appeared here for his bill that would create a database of abortion patients.
In 2024, we heard from West for his bill to ban Pride flags at public schools and government buildings.
He appeared here in 2023 for his bill that would make it a felony to perform drag in the view of minors. His bill called for a $20,000 fine and up to two years in prison.
West first appeared here in 2021 when Gov. Kevin Stitt signed his bill making it legal to run over protesters.
The tweet below refers to West’s attempt to pass this same bill earlier this year.
tRump’s attack on Colorado because they won’t bow to the whim of the tyrant. His withholding money is illegal but no republican will stand up to the demented king.
This is a full analysis of much of the reportage we receive all the time. Dr. Hogan has plenty of time to research, compare, let drafts marinate, and especially, to verify. It’s quite a long read, and while I so wish to put it all here, it’s too long for a blog post. It is highly informational, and it can really help a person trying to suss out news without being emotional or overwhelmed. So, here is part of Dr. Hogan’s Substack column. There is one outlet named, but they are not the only outlet included; he names Meidas Touch Network. They are not the only ones, nor are they by any stretch of imagination the worst, and I was gratified to find I am not the only one who’s noticed changes with MTN’s presentations! Anyway, here’s a snippet with the link & title just below. Read or not, up to you; thanks for your attention to this vital issue! 🙂
Throughout this publication, I speak only of the American acronym MTN, known publicly as MeidasTouchNetwork. I do so deliberately: the letters MTN already belong to a continental giant — Africa’s and Middle Eastern’s great signal‑bearer — a network‑mountain whose reach spans nations and whose currents carry nearly 300 million voices across the horizon.
To avoid confusing these two mountains, I name only the American one.
This work maintains that platforms such as Substack, YouTube, X, and TikTok are not built to honour verification:
They are engines calibrated for velocity, for heat, for the clean lines of ideological contrast. Within such machinery, truth becomes a faint watermark — present, but always subordinate to the algorithm’s appetite for motion.
In this environment, journalism becomes indistinguishable from:
political branding
influencer performance
affective storytelling
partisan mobilization
I MTN as the exemplar because its signal is a typographic monolith — a glyph large enough to be seen across continents. I intend no diminishment of it. What I observe is that MTN emerges inside an epistemic script already dissolving at the edges. It is not a transgressor of journalistic form; it is written into a page where the old rules have faded from the margins.
CHAPTER I:
THE PARTISAN SENSORIUM: MEDIA, AFFECT, AND THE NEW POLITICAL SUBJECT
The Return of the Affective State
Every era produces its own political subject. The Enlightenment imagined a rational citizen; the industrial age imagined a disciplined worker; the broadcast era imagined a passive viewer. The digital age, however, has produced something different: a subject constituted through affective immediacy, algorithmic visibility, and continuous political stimulation.
This chapter introduces the concept of the partisan sensorium — the affective infrastructure through which contemporary political subjects perceive, interpret, and emotionally inhabit the world. It is within this sensorium that organizations like MeidasTouch emerge, thrive, and fail.
The partisan sensorium is not simply a media environment; it is a mode of being.
(snip-there is more on the page. He’s very kindly outlined his work, so it’s very organized. Do take a few minutes and look it over!)
2025 has been filled with relentless and unprecedented attacks against the LGBTQ community in the U.S. President Donald Trump’s anti-LGBTQ policies have spilled over to countries abroad, including heading north to some conservative Canadian provinces like Alberta.
Despite this, there have been moments of hope. Here is Uncloseted Media’s 2025 LGBTQ year in review.
Jan. 1
Liechtenstein’s Marriage Act, passed in 2024, officially takes effect, opening marriage to same-sex couples and aligning the microstate with 21 other European nations that already recognize same-sex marriage.
Meta introduces new rules to their platforms. They remove their third-party fact-checking program and roll back hate speech restrictions, which allows anti-LGBTQ rhetoric to flourish. A report by Uncloseted Media identifies users who spew trans and homophobic language. One user wrote, “Look at this disgusting piece of fag shit here !” Another told someone to go to “the insane asylum where you belong, tranny freak.” Both of these comments are still up on the platform.
On the first day of his second term, President Trump signs an executive order titled “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government.” The order forces federal agencies to treat sex as a fixed male and female binary “assigned at conception,” calls for “gender” to be scrubbed from federal guidance, halts federal funding for gender-affirming care and mandates trans women in prison to be sent to male facilities. Trump also issues a stop-work order for PEPFAR, the biggest HIV/AIDS relief program in the world. This kicks off a broader pattern of cuts to HIV prevention and research.
Over the next three months, Trump continues his attacks on the LGBTQ community by signing another executive order that bans trans women and girls from competing on sports teams that match their gender identity. He also directs agencies to curb gender-affirming care for anyone under 19 and to strip funding from schools that allow social transition, inclusive bathrooms or the use of affirming names and pronouns.
Jan. 23
Same-sex marriage becomes the law of the land in Thailand, making it the first country in Southeast Asia to recognize marriage equality and equal adoption rights for gay couples.
Jan. 27
The Idaho House passes a resolution urging the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) to revisit and overturn Obergefell v. Hodges, signaling a renewed appetite to attack marriage equality at the federal level.
Feb. 6
Australia amends its federal Criminal Code to add sexual orientation, gender identity and intersex status as protected characteristics in hate-crime law. This creates stronger penalties for perpetrators of anti-LGBTQ hate crimes across the country.
Feb. 13
Sam Nordquist, a trans man from Minnesota, is found dead in Upstate New York after a woman he met online kidnapped and tortured him for weeks in a hotel room. Seven people connected to his death have been charged with murder. Sam’s friend, Jax Seeger, spoke to Uncloseted following the tragedy:
“From my understanding, they came out and said it wasn’t a hate crime … and part of their reasoning was because one or two of the suspects self-identified within the [LGBTQ] community. … Like, you can’t say that just because they identified as LGBTQ, they’re incapable of committing a hate crime. Sammy wasn’t just physically abused. He was psychologically abused and they didn’t go into what that consisted of, but I think that’s something to keep in mind. As well as just the level of abuse you know? Trans people deserve the same respect and the same love as everyone else.”
The week after our interview with Seeger, prosecutors upgrade the charges against Nordquist’s accused killers to first-degree murder.
Feb. 14
The Stonewall National Monument. Photo by TheCatalyst31.
The National Park Service (NPS) erases mentions of transgender people from the Stonewall memorial, furthering conservative efforts to push “LGB” without the “T.” A few months later, NPS would go on to remove mentions of bisexuals as well.
Feb. 25
Mexico City Pride 2025. Photo by Wotancito.
Mexico City’s Congress approves a resolution to reform the Law for the Recognition and Attention of LGBTTTI+ Persons. This move effectively recognizes nonbinary people.
Feb. 28
Kim Reynolds in 2024. Photo by Gage Skidmore.
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signs SF 418 into law. This move officially removes “gender identity” from the Iowa Civil Rights Act’s list of protected classes in housing, employment and public accommodations. Iowa becomes the first state to remove civil rights from a previously protected group.
March 27
Gov. Spencer Cox announces that Utah will become the first state to ban LGBTQ pride flags in government buildings and public schools, effective May 7. While the move is framed as a “neutrality” measure, it is widely seen as part of a broader effort to erase public displays of queer identity. In protest, the Utah Pride Center unveils what it calls “the world’s largest transgender flag” in front of Utah’s State Capitol building in Salt Lake City.
April 4
A conversion therapy ban in New South Wales (NSW), Australia, goes into effect. This makes it illegal for therapists and religious leaders to practice conversion therapy on gay and trans people. In a media release, the NSW attorney general writes:
“This follows ongoing work by the NSW Government to progress reforms that ensure all members of our community feel valued, respected and equal.”
“This report not only rejects health care best practices for transgender people — it goes a step further by recommending conversion therapy, though under a new, rebranded name, ‘exploratory therapy’. Despite the report’s claims, this is, in fact, the same harmful practice of conversion therapy, just using friendlier language.”
May 6
Trump’s transgender military ban goes into effect. The change requires active trans service members to self-separate from the military or risk losing some of their Veterans Affairs benefits. Alaina Kupec, a retired transgender U.S. Navy lieutenant, says the decision punishes people who are qualified and want to serve the country:
“[This is] a really dark day for our country where basically we’re allowed to discriminate against a class of people.”
May 19
A Russian court fines Apple roughly $130,000 for four offenses, including the violation of Russia’s expanded “LGBT propaganda” law. The Russian law labels the “international LGBT movement” as extremist and treats queer visibility as a threat to state security. Anything that promotes “non-traditional sexual relations” violates the law.
May 30
Puerto Rico’s Supreme Court rules that residents can request an “X” gender marker on their birth certificates. This move explicitly recognizes nonbinary people and strengthens case law around self-determined gender in the U.S. territory.
Amid relentless attacks from the federal government, WorldPride takes place in Washington D.C. Ahead of the event, the African Human Rights Coalition calls for a boycott because of Trump’s swath of anti-LGBTQ policies. While roughly 1.2 million people attend, The Washington Post reports that the turnout is less than half of what organizers expected.
June 18
In a 6–3 decision, SCOTUS upholds Tennessee’s law banning gender-affirming care for minors, including puberty blockers and hormones. The ruling signals that similar bans in other Republican-controlled states are likely to stand, sharply narrowing access to medically recommended care for trans youth nationwide. Ten days after the ruling, five trans youth speak to Uncloseted Media, with Dylan Brandt, 20, saying:
“Lawmakers don’t need to be involved in my doctor visits. They have no right. They have no knowledge. … They’ve got a lane and they should stay in it.”
In defiance of a government ban on Pride events, roughly 100,000 people march the streets of Budapest, Hungary, to celebrate. The march was seen as both a showing of support for LGBTQ rights and a protest against Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s conservative government.
Puerto Rico’s governor, Jenniffer González-Colón, signs one of the harshest anti-trans health care laws in the northern hemisphere. The law bans gender-affirming care for anyone under 21 and threatens to cut off public funding for hospitals that don’t comply. It also threatens doctors with up to 15 years in prison and loss of licensure for violations. Puerto Rico’s LGBTQ+ Federation and GLAAD release a joint statement condemning the bill:
“Banning this care and stripping the rights of parents to make the best medical decisions for their families would create unbearable burdens for the most marginalized in Puerto Rico. Lawmakers must vote to protect access to health care that saves lives, and allow families to make private health care decisions that help loved ones be themselves, be safe, and to thrive.”
July 17
The Trump administration shuts down the LGBTQ suicide hotline, a life-saving resource that had received over 1.3 million calls, chats and texts since it launched in 2022. Genna Brown, a 16-year-old queer kid in North Carolina, who had used the hotline, spoke with Uncloseted Media about the impact it had on her mental health:
“I was an extremely self-loathing, suicidal kid who was under the impression that God hated me and I was gonna burn in hell for eternity. … Connecting with someone who gets it was really helpful. … Because at home, I was so isolated and I didn’t really interact with other queer people.”
July 18
Cuba’s National Assembly passes a law allowing trans people to change their legal gender without any requirement for genital surgery. In a post on X, Minister of Justice Oscar Silvera Martínez writes that the new law “will allow the country to have a modern civil registry” provided by “the issuance of digital documents with full validity and efficiency.”
July 29
In a move hailed by human rights groups, the Caribbean nation of St. Lucia strikes down colonial-era laws criminalizing “buggery,” effectively decriminalizing consensual same-sex intimacy between adults.
Aug. 20
In the middle of the night, Florida’s Department of Transportation paints over a rainbow crosswalk made to honor the victims of the Pulse nightclub terrorist attack that left 49 people dead. Advocates respond in protest by installing rainbow-colored bike racks.
Sept. 1
Burkina Faso’s Transitional Legislative Assembly passes a law explicitly criminalizing homosexuality. The law imposes a two- to five-year prison sentence and fines on people convicted of same-sex activity, deepening the criminalization of queer people in West Africa.
Sept. 10
The assassination of Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University (UVU) kicks off a wave of anti-trans vitriol, including calls to criminalize the community and designate them as terrorists. In September, Uncloseted Media interviewed five current and former LGBTQ students at UVU. Simone Goodheart, a trans woman who had recently attended the school, spoke about how students were suggesting she was the murderer and how they were harassing her on campus:
“I would say a few of them were asking me to share my school schedule, which thankfully I’m not a student right now. But like damn, if that was the case? A few of them just make awful comments about my appearance, who I am as a person. Basically they just wanted to make sense [of it], but also they wanted to get their outrage out. Because yeah, somebody they cared for died. They are going through the grieving process and like there is outrage and frustration but they were misdirected and misconnected and just utilized by awful algorithms that try to boost the most amount of outrage possible in order to encourage engagement.”
Sept. 26
Slovakia’s parliament passes a constitutional amendment that formally recognizes only two genders, restricts legal gender transition and prohibits adoption by same-sex couples nationwide.
Oct. 6
Bari Weiss hosting a CBS News Town Hall with Erika Kirk. Screenshot/CBS News.
Bari Weiss is appointed editor-in-chief of CBS News, making her the first openly gay person to lead the network. Weiss often angles herself as an independent thinker and is known for criticizing the mainstream media. She has no experience in broadcast news and has surrounded herself in controversy, accusing former colleagues at The New York Times of bullying her. She has also railed against Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives, writing articles with headlines such as “Bari Weiss: End DEI.”
“It is time to end DEI for good. No more standing by as people are encouraged to segregate themselves. No more forced declarations that you will prioritize identity over excellence. No more compelled speech. No more going along with little lies for the sake of being polite.”
Oct. 7
SCOTUS appears poised to rule against a Colorado law that bans the discredited practice of conversion therapy on minors. The justices repeatedly question the state over whether the law hinders free speech.
The high-stakes case could roll back the rights of LGBTQ youth across the country. Colorado is one of more than 20 states that have banned conversion practices, and a ruling in favor of removing the ban could make those laws in other states vulnerable to similar challenges.
Zohran Mamdani, one of the most outspokenly pro-trans politicians in the country, is elected mayor of New York City. Meanwhile, anti-LGBTQ Republicans are defeated in Virginia’s and New Jersey’s gubernatorial elections. On the night of his win, Mamdani reaffirms his support for those who elected him:
“In this moment of political darkness, New York will be the light. Here, we believe in standing up for those we love, whether you are an immigrant, a member of the trans community, one of the many black women that Donald Trump has fired from a federal job, a single mom still waiting for the cost of groceries to go down, or anyone else with their back against the wall. Your struggle is ours, too.”
In a massive win for gay rights, SCOTUS rejects Kim Davis’ appeal and won’t revisit the landmark decision that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide in 2015. This signifies a major defeat for the new push to overturn the ruling, which was spearheaded by Davis and her lawyers from Liberty Counsel.
Nov. 17
Across Alberta, Canada, anti-trans legislation takes effect. A trans sports ban for students also forces sports organizations and schools to collect sensitive personal information that risks outing trans and gender diverse youth. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith announces plans to circumvent legal opposition to the province’s ban on gender-affirming care for minors by invoking the notwithstanding clause, a constitutional provision that will stop such challenges for five years. The measure was also used in Alberta in 2000 to advance legislation opposing gay marriage.
Nov. 19
New Zealand’s health minister, Simeon Brown, announces a halt to new prescriptions of puberty blockers for minors with gender dysphoria. Brown says the ban will remain until a British clinical trial is completed. Existing patients can continue treatment.
Nov. 25
The European Union’s (EU) top court rules that member states must recognize same-sex marriages contracted in any EU country for purposes such as residence and free movement, binding more conservative governments such as Poland, Bulgaria, Romania and Slovakia to acknowledge queer couples’ marital status even if they refuse to perform such marriages at home.
Dec. 2
ADF International, the global arm of U.S. anti-LGBTQ legal group Alliance Defending Freedom, publicly backs a South Australian woman threatening legal action over a Headspace Berri mental-health presentation that mentioned LGBTQ issues, incest and bestiality in a classroom context. Elenie Poulos, an expert on the intersection of religious and political discourses, describes their impact as “huge,” saying:
“They have a very longstanding and aggressive approach to the rights of LGBTIQ people. They fight it in the courts in the US, they fight it politically, locally and in communities, and their aggressive anti-gay stance is extremely harmful.”
Dec. 18
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Dr. Oz announcerestrictive measures designed to block minors’ access to gender-affirming care. The plan proposes federal Medicare and Medicaid cuts to all hospitals that provide this care to minors. “The multitude of efforts we are seeing from federal legislators to strip transgender and nonbinary youth of the health care they need is deeply troubling,” says Rodrigo Heng-Lehtinen of The Trevor Project.
Dec. 21
CBS News shelves a planned 60 Minutes segment on men deported to CECOT, an infamous prison in El Salvador. Internal sources indicate that the move to cancel the story came from the network’s editor-in-chief Bari Weiss, who reportedly raised concerns about the Trump administration’s lack of response to the reporter’s outreach.
If objective, nonpartisan, rigorous, LGBTQ-focused journalism is important to you, please consider making a tax-deductible donation through our fiscal sponsor, Resource Impact, by clicking this button:
Claims about economy, war in Ukraine, measles were among the top falsehoods of past year
President Donald Trump listens during a ceremony for the presentation of the Mexican Border Defense Medal in the White House on Dec. 15, 2025. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
ANALYSIS —Since he entered politics, President Donald Trump has been a regular on our end-of-year list of the most egregious and noteworthy falsehoods and distortions. With Trump back in the White House in 2025, it’s no surprise that he dominates this year’s whoppers.
Trump is known for rhetoric that uses inaccurate and exaggerated claims, which he repeats again and again. In his second term, several such claims were used to justify a whirlwind of policy changes and announcements. Using a method economists said wasn’t legitimate, he calculated “reciprocal tariffs” for goods imported from other countries. In firing the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, he claimed without evidence that low job growth figures were “phony” or “rigged.” In supporting a freeze on foreign aid, Trump said $50 million was being used to buy condoms for Hamas in Gaza, a claim refuted by the contractor identified by the State Department.
In a falsehood-filled press conference, Trump, along with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., touted an unproven link between autism and taking Tylenol during pregnancy. Kennedy, long known for spreading inaccurate information about vaccines, also features prominently in this year’s compilation. In his efforts to change the nation’s vaccine and public health recommendations, he pushed unproven therapeutics for treating measles and made false claims about the COVID-19 vaccines.
There are other politicians on our full list below, which is in no particular order.
Analysis
Tylenol and autism. Trump said a late September press conference would reveal “one of the biggest [medical] announcements … in the history of our country,” but instead the headline news was an unproven link between autism and the use of Tylenol, or acetaminophen, during pregnancy. Trump repeatedly told pregnant women, “don’t take Tylenol,” and offered the unsound medical advice to “tough it out.”
The administration didn’t point to any new original research on the topic, which has been studied. Some studies have shown an association between using acetaminophen during pregnancy and an increased likelihood of having a child with autism, but no causal link has been established. Recent research indicates there likely isn’t a link.As for Trump’s medical advice, untreated pain or fever during pregnancy can be harmful to both mother and child, and medical groups have long recommended pru45reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeedent use of the drug — taking acetaminophen when needed in consultation with a doctor.
HHS Secretary Kennedy later falsely claimed that two circumcision-related studies provided evidence that acetaminophen causes autism when given to children. That’s not what the studies found. In November, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention changed a webpage to say that its previous statement that “vaccines do not cause autism” is “not an evidence-based claim,” echoing Kennedy’s prior misrepresentations of science.
Inflation has not “stopped.” As cost-of-living issues continue to be a top concern for voters, Trump has repeatedly claimed that inflation is “stopped,” “dead” or at a lower rate than it actually is, falsely saying the country saw “the worst inflation” in history (or “probably” did so) under former President Joe Biden. That’s not the case. This month, in a speech about the economy in Pennsylvania, Trump wrongly said he “inherited the worst inflation in the history of our country.”
The annualized inflation rate was 3 percent when Trump took office in January, and it was 3 percent again for the 12 months ending in September, the latest data available from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Inflation did rise considerably in the first half of Biden’s term, but it then cooled substantially. From July to December 2024, the annual increase in the Consumer Price Index was below 3 percent.
The CPI went up 2.7 percent for the 12 months ending in November, BLS said today, noting that data collection for the month began Nov. 14 due to the government shutdown.
The worst inflation increase year-to-year occurred after World War I, a 23.7 percentrise from June 1919 to June 1920. There have been numerous other times with inflation higher than the peak point under Biden.
As we head into the midterms, we’d caution voters that politicians often blame their opponents for rising prices, but the causes of inflation are usually more complicated than that. For instance, Labor Day claims from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee blamed House Republicans for “driving up the price of burgers.” But drought conditions in recent years, among other factors, drove up the cost of ground beef.
Russia, not Ukraine, started the war. After U.S. and Russian officials met in Saudi Arabia in February to discuss an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine, Trump falsely reprimanded Ukraine, saying, “You should have never started it.” He said Ukraine “could have made a deal.” As we wrote, the war started on Feb. 24, 2022, when Russia launched a full-scale invasion, two days after Russia recognized two separatist territories in eastern Ukraine as independent states and sent Russian troops into Ukraine’s Donbas region. While Russian President Vladimir Putin gave “a long list of grievances” to justify the attack, Jeffrey Mankoff, a senior associate with the Europe, Russia, and Eurasia Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, wrote in an April 2022 report that the “fundamental issue” was “the legitimacy of Ukrainian identity and statehood.”
Throughout the year, Trump also repeatedly and wrongly claimed that the U.S. has provided more money in aid to Ukraine than Europe has. The opposite is true.
“Twisted and manipulated” report that wasn’t.When the Washington Post reported via anonymous sources that a government intelligence assessment concluded the Venezuelan government was not directing the migration of members of the Tren de Aragua gang to the U.S., Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, dismissed the report.She said those “behind this illegal leak of classified intelligence” had “twisted and manipulated [the information] to convey the exact opposite finding.” But when a redacted copy of the intelligence memo was publicly released the following month, it corroborated the Washington Post’s account. According to the intelligence memo, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s “regime probably does not have a policy of cooperating with TDA and is not directing TDA movement to and operations in the United States.”
A few months later, Gabbard wrongly claimed to have uncovered “overwhelming evidence” that former President Barack Obama and others in his administration manipulated intelligence to “lay the groundwork for what was essentially a years-long coup against President Trump.”
RFK Jr.’s dubious measles therapeutics. In March, during a measles outbreak in Texas, Kennedy claimed there were “very good results” from treating patients with a certain steroid and antibiotic, as well as cod liver oil, saying “those therapeutics have really been ignored” by the CDC “for a long, long time.” Neither the steroid nor antibiotic is a specific treatment for measles, experts said, and cod liver oil, which contains vitamin A, also isn’t recommended.
Vitamin A itself is recommended around the world for measles, as a couple high-dose bursts of the vitamin have been shown to reduce measles mortality in lower-income countries where deficiencies exist. But the benefit is unclear in the U.S. and countries without such deficiencies. Cod liver oil would need to be consumed in a potentially dangerous amount to get the vitamin A dosage used for measles.
In other comments, Kennedy downplayedthe outbreak, which ultimately killed two children, and made unsupported and misleading claims about the measles vaccine, which is safe and effective in preventing the highly contagious disease.
No evidence of “phony” Bureau of Labor Statistics numbers. After a BLS report showed less-than-stellar job growth, Trump lashed out at the BLS commissioner, saying “her numbers were wrong,” “phony” and “rigged,” and firing her. There’s no evidence anyone manipulated the data.William Beach, the BLS commissioner during Trump’s first term, wrote on X that the firing of Commissioner Erika McEntarfer, a Biden appointee who had worked in the federal government for more than 20 years, was “totally groundless” and “sets a dangerous precedent and undermines the statistical mission of the Bureau.”
Trump also wrongly claimed that “days before the election,” McEntarfer “came out with these beautiful numbers trying to get somebody else elected” and then reduced the employment estimates “right after the election.” That’s not what happened. On Nov. 1, 2024, just before the election, the BLS report showed growth of just 12,000 jobs in October and downward revisions for the prior two months.
Signalgate: Not “total exoneration.” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth claimed that he received “total exoneration” in an investigative report by the Defense Department’s Office of Inspector General regarding a Signal group chat about a military attack in Yemen. But the report contradicted that assessment, concluding that Hegseth’s messages “created a risk to operational security that could have resulted in failed U.S. mission objectives and potential harm to U.S. pilots.” The report also faulted Hegseth for using a personal cell phone to relay sensitive DoD information and for not retaining the Signal conversations as official records, as required by federal law and Pentagon policy.
Trump’s chart on “reciprocal” tariffs. In a Rose Garden announcement in April of sweeping new “reciprocal tariffs,” Trump held aloft a chart that claimed to give a breakdown of the tariffs other countries charge the U.S. and the corresponding tariff that the U.S. would as a result impose against those countries. But it turned out the values assigned to other countries were not, in fact, the tariff rates other countries were placing on imports of U.S. goods, but rather a calculation of what the administration deemed would be necessary to balance trade with various countries. Economists told us that was not a legitimate way to calculate reciprocal tariffs for countries.
The misleading “reciprocal tariffs” chart, which informed the tariff rates he then set, was just one of the president’s false and misleading talking points on tariffs. Among them, Trump repeatedly, and wrongly, claimed that the tariffs he imposed would be paid by other countries and not, at least partly, by American consumers in the form of higher prices.
mRNA vaccine misinformation. Kennedy, and HHS, made a series of false statements about mRNA vaccines, the technology behind the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines. In announcing the termination of half a billion dollars of funding for mRNA vaccine projects, Kennedy said: “We reviewed the science, listened to the experts, and acted,” claiming that “the data show these vaccines fail to protect effectively against upper respiratory infections like COVID and flu.”
The science — peer-reviewed scientific literature — and many experts refute that. Studies repeatedly demonstrated the vaccines’ effectiveness and safety, with some estimates of millions of lives saved during the pandemic, and the technology has shown encouraging results against the flu. HHS later released a 181-page list of papers that claimed to show vaccine harms, a document that wasn’t peer-reviewed and was written by people who have spread unsupported claims about COVID-19 vaccination and treatment.
Kennedy also claimed the COVID-19 vaccines posed a “profound risk” to children, even though serious side effects are rare. In ending funding to Moderna for developing mRNA vaccines against influenza viruses, HHS spokespeople wrongly said the mRNA technology is “under-tested.”
DOGE distortions, $50 million not for condoms for Gaza. Before taking office, Trump said entrepreneur Elon Musk would head his new Department of Government Efficiency. Musk had initially promised to cut “at least $2 trillion” in wasteful government spending. Foreign aid was one of the first targets, with Trump setting the tone for questionable information that would plague the program by claiming, “We identified and stopped $50 million being sent to Gaza to buy condoms for Hamas.” The contractor identified by the State Department said it provides hospital services in Gaza and has not used U.S. funds “to procure or distribute condoms.”
In his address to Congress in March, Trump made the inflated claim that DOGE had “found hundreds of billions of dollars of fraud.” However, the DOGE website at the time stated that the department had only generated $105 billion in savings and only purported to provide evidence to support $19.8 billion of that total. (The website currently claims DOGE created $214 billion in savings, providing information on about $61 billion. It’s unclear how much, if any, of that is related to fraud.)
Trump also claimed DOGE had identified millions of dead individuals who were incorrectly labeled as alive in the Social Security database, and misleadingly claimed that “money is being paid to many of them.” Social Security Administration internal audits showed that the number of dead recipients still being sent benefits is likely in the thousands, not the millions.
Crime claims behind National Guard deployments. In making claims about high crime or lawlessness in cities as justification for the deployment of National Guard troops, Trump at times exaggerated or got the facts wrong. In early October, he claimed that Portland, Oregon, “is burning to the ground” or has “fires all over the place.” But Portland Fire & Rescue reported few calls about potential fires near a federal building, the site of protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and Portland Police told us the protests “are nowhere near city-wide.”
Trump’s statements about the need for National Guard troops in Portland and Chicago focused on overall crime. “These are unsafe places,” he said. But in court filings and other correspondence, the administration said troops were needed to protect ICE officials and federal property.
In Washington, D.C., where the president is the commander in chief of the National Guard, Trump wrongly said that “murders in 2023 reached the highest rate probably ever.” Murders had been declining since 2023, when the rate was less than half the rate in 1991. After a federal takeover of the city’s law enforcement, Trump falsely said an 11-day period with no murders was the “first time that’s taken place in years.” There was a 16-day period earlier this year.
Trump has retaliated against Colorado Gov. Jared Polis by denying FEMA reliefs for floods and wildfires and by ordering the dismantling of the nation’s premiere climate research facility.
tRump bribes / Fascism / Right wing media take over /
Mr. Trump has privately said Larry Ellison assured him that he would turn CBS News, which the Ellisons took over when they bought Paramount, into a more conservative outlet, two people with knowledge of the president’s comments said.
What Trump means is that he has to confer with his master in Moscow first.
Hate / DEI / Bigotry / Christians trying to take over the US / Christians forcing their church doctrines on all / Using the US might to enforce the Christian view / ICE / DHS
Earlier this month it was reported that Mahmoud, who remains jailed without bond, may present a “gay panic” defense, which is legal in Florida but banned in 20 states and Washington DC.
Government officials have traditionally steered clear of such overtly religious language, as the Constitution bans an official state religion. The First Amendment’s establishment clause prohibits the government from establishing a religion or favoring one religion over another, while the free exercise clause protects the religious expression of all faiths.
Earlier this month, members of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccine advisory committee — whom Kennedy selected after firing the previous group — suggested digging into concerns about aluminum salts, though large studies have found them to be safe.
tRump’s illegal military war crime actions / tRump’s gift to the oil companies that paid him prior / This is a war crime and illegal / tRump trying to get other countries resources for his own profits / tRump grifts and seeking bribes
It has nothing to do with US national security and all the minerals / traffic rights to make ships pay / and the “rare earth” metals that tRump wants a piece of. It is about profit. Hugs
The paying tribute and bribes to tRump and his slush funds is so anti what the US should and used to stand for. It is the very thing the founding fathers were most against. The courts have gutted the holding of tRump to account but the emoluments cause is what this was designed to stop. Ask yourself if Biden / Obama / Clinton had been so blatant in demanding bribes would you tRump cult supporters be OK with it still? Hugs
The appeals court told her to have it completely wrapped up by the first week of January and this is not doing that. I expect more to happen fast with this. She ignored the appeals court order to please tRump.
“There was blood everywhere, screams, people crying, people who couldn’t take it and were urinating and vomiting on themselves,” the college student from Venezuela who sought U.S. asylum, said. “Four guards grabbed me, and they beat me until I bled until the point of agony. They knocked our faces against the wall. That was when they broke one of my teeth.”
Mr. Miller’s belief that seven decades of immigration has produced millions of people who take more than they give — an assertion that has been refuted by years of economic data — is at the heart of the Trump administration’s campaign to restrict immigration and deport immigrants already in the country.
tRump trying to hold on to power illegally / Jan 6th insurrectionists / trying to change the history everyone seen live / Scamming / Using the US treasury & taxpayer funds to pay off tRump cult members.
The U.S. Air Force will provide Jan. 6 rioter Ashli Babbitt with military funeral honors, reversing a Biden-era decision that denied her family’s request, according to a legal group that has represented her family.
In June 2025, the Pentagon agreed to pay the Babbitt family a $5 million “wrongful death” settlement. Below, see the latest from Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio, who is himself reportedly suing the DOJ for $100 million.
This is not true. The construction industry has crashed in Florida. No workers so nothing being built. Half crews means nothing built. The work is far to hard for most people. Hugs
In his first year back in office, Mr. Trump has unabashedly adopted the trappings of royalty just as he has asserted virtually unbridled power to transform American government and society to his liking. In both pageantry and policy, Mr. Trump has established a new, more audacious version of the imperial presidency that goes far beyond even the one associated with Richard M. Nixon, for whom the term was popularized half a century ago.
Trump is expected to announce plans to build a new, large warship that Trump is calling a “battleship” and is part of his larger vision to create a “Golden Fleet” that includes as many as 50 support ships, according to people familiar with the matter who were not authorized comment publicly.
Bigotry / Hate / Racism / DEI Misinformation / White Supremacy
The site isn’t exposing misleading reporting – it’s revealing the bubble Trump increasingly inhabits
‘Given that bubble, harsh reality via the media is a rude intrusion.’ Photograph: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters
Donald Trump has used the mainstream press as a punching bag for many years, but in recent weeks his jabs have become even more frequent – and more ill-tempered.
And last Friday, his White House unveiled the latest wrinkle: a new website that supposedly tracks media bias. It offers a “Hall of Shame” and “media offenders of the week” to focus on reporting that the president dislikes. It names individuals and news organizations, and it points to the Boston Globe and CBS News, among others, for doing supposedly misleading and biased work. It uses terms like “left wing lunacy” to describe some of its complaints.
The site’s first iteration is particularly focused on media reporting about Trump’s call for six Democratic members of Congress to be arrested, tried and punished for their supposedly “seditious” video reminding military and intelligence personnel that they are not obliged to follow illegal orders. Trump even boosted a social media post that shouted: “HANG THEM GEORGE WASHINGTON WOULD” (He later told Fox News he wasn’t “threatening death, but I think they’re in serious trouble”).
All this for a video in which the members of Congress sought to remind people that military members make an oath to the constitution, not to the president.
“Our laws are clear. You can refuse illegal orders,” Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona, a former astronaut and a US navy veteran, says on the video. Trump has been especially furious about Kelly, who seems like just the wrong person to go after, giving his background of service and high credibility.
The White House site crows that those journalists and outlets who reported on all this are now “exposed”.
There really is something being exposed here, but it’s not the reporting.
It’s Trump’s own increasing desperation and his decreasing ability to countenance anything other than flattery and sycophancy. That’s not what the mainstream press is – or should be – in the business of providing.
But as Jonathan Lemire reported this week in the Atlantic, this president has become more and more isolated lately. His social media appears mostly restricted to his own (poorly named) Truth Social site; his travel is generally not to meet with (or even see) ordinary Americans; instead he tends to hang out with the billionaires who want something from his administration and are willing to cozy up shamelessly to get it.
“President Trump has never before been in such an echo chamber,” according to Lemire. “His domestic travel has basically stopped. He sees rich donors and Maga media, not actual voters.”
Given that bubble, harsh reality via the media is a rude intrusion, and the new White House site is an evident effort to dispel the discomfort by disparaging it.
Who, I wonder, does Trump think he’s reaching with this effort?
The Maga faithful, of course, don’t need to be persuaded. They already are fully on board with anything their dear leader does. And most other Americans – even some of the millions who voted for him – already have his number.
Trump’s overall approval rating of 38% is the lowest since his return to the presidency, according to a recent Reuters/Ipsos poll. It has fallen dramatically since the start of that second term and is down two percentage points just since the beginning of November. Even his iron grip on the Republican party has weakened. All of that is a deep worry with the approach of the midterm elections – less than a year away.
Who can he blame?
Why, the press, of course. And that’s precisely what this new site is all about.
Will it work? Granted, trust in the mainstream press is low, so reporters and news organizations are a convenient target of criticism. And granted, media bias exists, though the most blatant is on the far right, the busy pro-Trump propagandists.
But I agree with Seth Stern, director of advocacy for the Freedom of the Press Foundation, who told the Washington Post that most people – whatever their politics – aren’t going to buy what this new “bias tracker” is selling.
“People understand the obvious conflict inherent in a presidential administration appointing itself the arbiter of media bias,” Stern said.
That’s especially true for media criticism from those doing the bidding of Trump, who has made his antipathy toward the press so central to his persona.
Calling out inaccurate and biased reporting is a fair pursuit. Journalists are far from flawless; they make mistakes, and the best of them correct those quickly and fully.
But that’s not what this new site is about. And trashing the media is not going to help Trump get out of the trouble – or the bubble – that he’s in.
Margaret Sullivan is a Guardian US columnist writing on media, politics and culture