AHF to Meta: Sexual Orientation is not Mental Illness

AIDS Healthcare Foundation calls out tech conglomerate for explicit acceptance of attacks on people based on gender or sexual orientation

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the world’s largest HIV/AIDS healthcare nonprofit, is disgusted by the section in Meta’s Hateful Conduct Policy Details that explicitly endorses attacks on the LGBTQ community. Meta’s guidelines include the following language:

“We do allow allegations of mental illness or abnormality when based on gender or sexual orientation, given political and religious discourse about transgenderism and homosexuality and common non-serious usage of words like ‘weird’.”

The technology conglomerate also allows intentionally exclusionary and insulting language on its social media platforms “in the context of discussing political or religious topics, such as when discussing transgender rights, immigration, or homosexuality” and approves calls for discrimination based on gender or sexual orientation “when the content is based on religious beliefs.”

“Putting forth a hateful conduct policy and carving out exceptions for attacks on people based on gender or sexual orientation is despicable,” said Queen Victoria, International President of FLUX, a division of AHF dedicated to creating safe spaces for Trans and gender non-conforming individuals. “Protecting some people and not others – and using religious beliefs as an excuse – is dangerous and carving out a safe space for hate speech online only serves to fuel the flames of further discrimination offline. Meta should reverse this policy and recognize that the LGBTQ community deserves the same protections and respect as any other group of people.”

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the world’s largest HIV/AIDS healthcare organization, provides cutting-edge medicine and advocacy to more than 2.2 million individuals across 47 countries, including the U.S. and in Africa, Latin America/Caribbean, the Asia/Pacific Region, and Eastern Europe. To learn more about AHF, visit us online at AIDShealth.org, find us on Facebook, and follow us on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok.