➤ GOOGLE, from p.14
ed a Christian Post article about
march held by “ex-gay” survivors of
the 2016 Pulse nightclub massacre
in Orlando who organized a gathering
“to proclaim their freedom
from homosexuality.” The website
referred to people who have “since
left homosexuality,” described one
woman as a “former lesbian,” and
stated that marches of that sort
are meant to “offer a safe place for
those in the LGBT community to
come to the knowledge of Jesus
Christ.”
Church Militant got a boost from
Google on September 17 when the
site published an article about the
State Department’s legal battles
over the citizenship of binational
same-sex parents. Church Militant
referred to two men who are
in a “so-called same-sex marriage”
and wrote that “the rights of children”
whose parents are gay “are
being ignored.” They also insisted
that children of same-sex parents
often suffer from psychological
problems, ADHD, and have learning
disabilities.
On September 18, anti-LGBTQ
sites made up two of the top fi ve
search results for “LGBT.” One of
the articles was a Church Militant
piece blasting a bishop in New Jersey
for supporting a pro-LGBTQ
group in his diocese, while a separate
piece published by the Daily
Signal praised New York City’s reversing
of a ban on conversion therapy
as “a win for everyone” because
“free speech matters.” That same
article called the LGBTQ movement
“a wrecking ball against any
cultural or legal edifi ce in its way”
and ripped the City of New York for
offering gender-affi rming resources
but not resources for those who
want to reverse their transitions.
“It’s the Hotel Transgender,” the
writer, Cathy Ruse, wrote in a bigoted
tirade. “You can check in any
time you like, but you can never
leave.”
Beyond that fi ve-day analysis,
➤ DUBLIN BASHING, from p.14
The vicious attack has not
stopped Matta from maintaining
an exceptionally positive attitude
and outlook on the future.
His story has gained attention
online and in the news media,
alt-right sites continued to get premium
placement on Google News.
On September 23, for example, the
second search result for “LGBT”
showed a Church Militant piece
blasting Pope Francis for appointing
a “Radical pro-LGBT US bishop
to be Synod father” and the third
result was a Christian Post piece
highlighting accounts of “former
LGBT persons” who were sharing
the “transformational power of
God.”
And on September 30, the sixth
result under “LGBT” was yet another
Christian Post article in
which people offered advice on
debunked ways to use religion to
leave “homosexuality.”
It isn’t just the “LGBT” keyword,
either. The third search result for
“gay” on September 13 was an article
published by right-wing site
CNSNews.com that referred to
same-sex marriage in quotes — as
if it’s debatable that such marriages
exist.
Google did not respond to questions
about the rankings or requests
for comment about the fi ndings.
The search engine giant has
long maintained that its search
results are generated through predetermined
algorithms — perhaps
the homophobic sites are simply
taking advantage of them — but
questions remain about the unique
elevation of bigoted platforms that
could widely infl uence masses of
people.
This would not be the fi rst time
this year that Google has landed
in hot water with LGBTQ-related
search results. In July, the French
website Numerama reported that
Google had previously shown
mostly pornographic results when
France-based users searched for
the French word for “lesbian,” but
Google eventually cleaned that up.
It is unclear, however, whether
the comapny also plans to clean up
blatantly homophobic and transphobic
sites publishing advice
pieces on leaving homosexuality.
triggering an outpouring of support
that has warmed his heart as
he continues to recover from the
mental and physical effects of the
attack.
“I have received so much love
from so many people,” he said. “It
has made me stronger.”
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