How False Information Is Used Against Sexual and Gender Minorities and What We Can Do About It

In recent years, there have been concerted efforts in the United States to spread false information against sexual and gender minorities and, consequently, social and political gains have retracted. Here, we introduce major concepts and findings in false information scholarship to consider: (1) important but largely understudied intersections between the scholarship on social movements and false information; (2) examples of how false information is deployed against sexual and gender minorities, who have recently been the targets of widespread false information campaigns; and (3) how such campaigns can potentially be mitigated. Throughout the article, we highlight how sociological insights can offer new tools for analyzing and dispelling false information. We conclude with future directions at the cross-section of scholarship on false information, social movements, and sexual and gender minorities.