Politicians in at least 51 countries used anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric during elections, NGO finds
Rights group also finds rise in openly gay, bisexual and transgender people running for office in 36 countries
Link to Full Article
The Guardian - Rachel Savage
Thu 11 Sep 2025 00.01

Politicians in at least 51 countries used homophobic or transphobic rhetoric during elections last year, from depicting LGBTQ+ identity as a foreign threat to condemning "gender ideology", according to a new study of 60 countries and the EU.

However, there were also gains for LGBTQ+ representation in some countries. Openly gay, bisexual and transgender people ran for office in at least 36 countries, including for the first time in Botswana, Namibia and Romania – albeit unsuccessfully – according to the report by Outright International. The number of LGBTQ+ elected officials doubled to at least 233 in Brazil.

As the visibility of LGBTQ+ people has risen in many countries in the last decade, so too has a backlash from conservative parts of societies, fuelled in many cases by far-right activists and politicians using gay and transgender people as scapegoats for other problems.

The Outright International report said that rises in discrimination against minorities had come hand in hand with growing authoritarianism: "In 2024, as in previous years, LGBTIQ communities and other marginalised groups were among the first casualties of these anti-democratic attacks."

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Three different splash screens asking for money when clicking on the article is not a good look for these newspapers. Not least British newspapers.

This is a trend that has gone around the world. The old adage "When the US sneezes, the world catches a cold" is apt. Trump got voted in, so everyone thinks they can go on the right wing "Hate anyone different" ticket, and people will vote for them. Sadly it is working, because the world has gone mad.

20 years down the line, we will all realise how nuts this all is... until we don't again. It makes me sad to be part of this whole thing.

More people willing to stand up for themselves can never be a bad thing. Like Sarah in the US. She is a heroine. And has faced no end of issues just for being herself.

Never stop fighting. The world won't always be crazy, until it starts again.

Quote from: Sephirah on Yesterday at 06:14:03 PMThree different splash screens asking for money when clicking on the article is not a good look for these newspapers. Not least British newspapers.

Are you seeing ads when you click the link? I don't see them when I access the site. But I use an adblocker. If it is annoying, I won't link to their site. I hate intrusive ads and will not support a site that uses them.

Quote from: Lori Dee on Yesterday at 07:28:13 PMAre you seeing ads when you click the link? I don't see them when I access the site. But I use an adblocker. If it is annoying, I won't link to their site. I hate intrusive ads and will not support a site that uses them.

No it isn't ads, Lori. It's British Newspapers trying to milk British people. Was a Guardian story, which is a UK paper And they go hard on the UK folks. I doubt anyone not from here would see it. Please don't stop. I saw it eventually. You just have to get past all their junk. 🙂

Quote from: Sephirah on Yesterday at 07:47:51 PMNo it isn't ads, Lori. It's British Newspapers trying to milk British people. Was a Guardian story, which is a UK paper And they go hard on the UK folks. I doubt anyone not from here would see it. Please don't stop. I saw it eventually. You just have to get past all their junk. 🙂

I turned off my AdBlocker to check it, and yikes 
A huge banner ad with a picture of somebody with spiders crawling on their ears (calling them "mites"😉, and another pop-up with their Privacy notice. I see what you mean about having to clear out the garbage to see the article.

Epic failure of the marketing department. People don't click on ads just because they fill the whole page. (They install AdBlocker Origin instead.)

British papers are very bad for it. They know people don't go down to Joe Q. Public buying them on a street corner for the most part.

Don't worry, okay? The important thing is the message you want to bring here. And it's an important one. Sometimes people have to trawl through it all to get to the important stuff. Doesn't make it any less important.

I want to thank you, Jess, Sarah and Danielle for taking on the responsibilities of the news staff. There was a time when this place had its own dedicated section for it. But it's quite a large burden to bear and you're doing a fantastic job. The mods on this site have never been anything other than exceptional in making this place the best it can be.

Thank you.

Quote from: Sephirah on Yesterday at 08:26:30 PMBritish papers are very bad for it. They know people don't go down to Joe Q. Public buying them on a street corner for the most part.

Don't worry, okay? The important thing is the message you want to bring here. And it's an important one. Sometimes people have to trawl through it all to get to the important stuff. Doesn't make it any less important.

I want to thank you, Jess, Sarah and Danielle for taking on the responsibilities of the news staff. There was a time when this place had its own dedicated section for it. But it's quite a large burden to bear and you're doing a fantastic job. The mods on this site have never been anything other than exceptional in making this place the best it can be.

Thank you.

We had a dedicated News Staff, but over time, they sort of faded away. Since all of the Mods were already doing the job, Danielle gave us the badges to show members who to contact if they need help with posting a story.

We may get back to a dedicated News Staff again, but there is still a lot of work going on in the background since the site crash, as you know.

On behalf of the Team, thanks for the kudos.  🙂

Quote from: Lori Dee on Yesterday at 08:56:42 PMWe had a dedicated News Staff, but over time, they sort of faded away. Since all of the Mods were already doing the job, Danielle gave us the badges to show members who to contact if they need help with posting a story.

We may get back to a dedicated News Staff again, but there is still a lot of work going on in the background since the site crash, as you know.

On behalf of the Team, thanks for the kudos.  🙂

Yeah I can imagine. I remember when the site had a wiki team, too. Do you want another badge? 😉 Y'all have your work cut out for you. I am glad I am retired and tending my not-cats, lol. 😛 You're all doing an amazing job. 🙂 Going back to the story, though... British papers want your money. And the world has gone nuts. 🙂