An analysis of on-line chatter on social media platforms found hate speech targeting LGBTQ people increased by more than 400% in the aftermath of the Florida legislature passing the “Don’t Say Gay” bill supported by Republican Governor Ron DeSantis.
The study, cosponsored by the Center for Countering Digital Hate and the Human Rights Campaign, also found that the use of the term “groomer” jumped a whopping 1,200%, as did the frequency of using the words “predator” and “pedophile,” frequently-used slurs against the LGBTQ community.
Another aspect of the study: the most-influential users of those anti-LGBTQ slur. Number one on the list: Equine American and shoe model for the “seconds bin” Congressoman Marjorie Taylor Greene (Q-GA) had tweets using one or more of those terms reached more than 18 million viewers. Colorado Republican Congresswoman and cowgirl-if-ya-pay-her (allegedly) Lauren Boebert was third on the list.