After the right-wing echo chamber amplified a series of lies about treatments for transgender children, Boston Children’s Hospital warned employees to guard their personal safety after receiving a growing number of threats against the hospital and its workers, NBC News reports.
The threats escalated after BCH was targeted by groups of conservatives on social media, like the LibsofTikTok Twitter account, where significant amounts of false information is spread. In this case, the Twitter account, run by Brooklyn real estate agent Chaya Reichik, propagated a false claim that BCH performed hysterectomies on children under the age of 17 if they say they’re transgender; BCH does not perform any such surgery on a minor for that reason.
“In response to commentary last week critical of our Gender Multispecialty Service (GeMS) Program, Boston Children’s Hospital has been the target of a large volume of hostile internet activity, phone calls, and harassing emails including threats of violence toward our clinicians and staff. We are deeply concerned by these attacks on our clinicians and staff fueled by misinformation and a lack of understanding and respect for our transgender community,” BCH said in an emailed statement, adding, “Boston Children’s is proud to be home to the first pediatric and adolescent transgender health program in the United States.”
Reichik and other conservative activists like Matt Walsh have used their social media reach to target BCH and other children’s hospitals for treating transgender children or reaching out to LGBTQ communities. They targeted a children’s hospital in Omaha, Nebraska for setting up an information booth at a LGBTQ Pride event. Raichik and another right-wing activist, Christopher Rufo, targeted a children’s hospital in Pittsburgh for producing an informational video about puberty blockers.
In each case, Raichik and the others intentionally stoked anger at the hospitals and the hospital staff, which incited their followers to call hospital workers “pedophiles” and “groomers,” common slurs, based on no facts, meant to target these people.