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False online accusations of 'grooming' against LGBTQ people are spiking, experts say
The rising tide of online abuse is challenging as the internet has become an essential place for young people to learn about LGBTQ identities and connect with community members.
www.nbcnews.com
The most prominent slurs center on accusations that LGBTQ people and their allies are pedophiles, using the word “grooming,” which the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children defines as when “someone builds a relationship, trust, and emotional connection with a child or young person so they can manipulate, exploit and abuse them.”
The term has been weaponized online, and it now appears almost constantly on many social media platforms. Data from the social media platform Reddit analyzed by Jeremy Blackburn, an assistant professor of computer science at Binghamton University in New York who studies online extremism, found about a 100 percent increase since the beginning of the year in discussion of “grooming” in conjunction with various LGBTQ slurs starting in early March and accelerating in mid-to-late March.
Fueled by right-wing hysteria, righties have settled on false accusations of "groomers" and pedophiles for anyone who's LGBTQ and out of the closet. This canard is nothing new; as far back as the 70s and 80s, teachers who were gay were accused of the very same things. Interesting how straight cis people are not accused of this for making public their own sexual orientation.
In addition to being slanderous, false accusations against LGBTQ people, they cheapen the accusations against actual groomers, who have been given a golden opportunity to play victim when legitimately accused.