NLGJA: The Association of LGBTQ Journalists applauds The Daily Beast’s decision to remove its story, “The Other Olympic Sport in Rio: Swiping,” which outed gay athletes using the hook-up app Grindr in Rio de Janeiro. The reporting was unethical, extremely careless of individual privacy and potentially dangerous to the athletes.
In many parts of the world, LGBTQ people are subject to imprisonment and death if their sexual orientation is revealed. In the United States, research has shown that LGBT teens and young adults have one of the highest rates of all suicide attempts. Lesbians and gays outnumber trans people six to one, yet transgender people are 50% more likely to be murdered. A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study found 61% of bisexual women and 37% of bisexual men report rape, physical violence and/or stalking.
NLGJA is not an advocacy group, but a group of working journalists dedicated to ensuring fair and accurate coverage of the LGBTQ community.
You can find more in NLGJA’s stylebook. We also offer tipsheets on issues that affect our communities at nlgja.org/resources.