Social media platforms failing to stop hate, threats against LGBTQ users, report says

FILE IMAGE - TikTok and Facebook logos displayed on phone screens and a laptop keyboard are seen in this illustration photo taken on Feb.

6, 2022. (Photo illustration by Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images) Social media platforms including Facebook and TikTok are failing to stop hate and threats against LGBTQ users, a report issued Wednesday from advocacy group GLAAD found.Those are some of the internet’s most vulnerable users, with a majority of LGBTQ people saying they’ve faced menacing posts or comments when they’re scrolling through social media.

But it’s unclear how social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube are handling those threats.Instead of protecting their users, GLAAD says in the report, the tech companies are safeguarding information about how they respond to those attacks, revealing few details about how often they take down posts or accounts that push hate speech or harass LGBTQ users."The reality is, there’s very little transparency and very little accountability," said Jenni Olson, GLAAD’s director for social media safety and author of the report. "And people feel helpless."Los Angeles resident Peter Sapinsky, a gay musician who said he has faced harassment in the online gaming community, shared screenshots with The Associated Press of dozens of messages he’s sent to YouTube about users and videos that use racist and homophobic slurs.

YouTube has responded to only some messages, he said.Sapinsky, 29, said some use YouTube to livestream themselves harassing people at Pride parades.