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  • 2018-08-01 (xsd:date)
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  • Was a 'Pedophiles Are People Too' Notice Posted Near an Oregon School? (en)
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  • On 27 July 2018, an image of a sign reading Pedophiles Are People Too and Love is Love over a rainbow background reminiscent of the LGBTQ pride flag started making its way around social media: Facebook posts were often accompanied by text indicating the sign had been stapled to a telephone pole near a school in Oregon: Portland television station KATU confirmed that this sign was briefly posted near a school in the city of West Linn, and that it was removed shortly after it was noticed by area residents. While it's still unclear who put up this particular sign, it is eerily similar to previous troll campaigns aimed at connecting the LGBTQ community with pedophiles. In December 2017, for instance, users on the internet forum 4Chan concocted a false rumor that a P (for Pedosexual) was being added to the well known LGBTQ initialism. 4Chan users were encouraged to spread a Photoshopped flyer bearing taglines such as love is ageless, a more on-the-nose version of the tagline seen on the Oregon poster, love is love. A similar ruse was circulated on Tumblr in June 2018. That time an image supposedly showing a pride flag for MAPs (Minor Attracted Persons) was shared along with baseless rumors about pedophiles' supposedly rebranding themselves in an effort to gain acceptance into the LGBTQ community. These campaigns, as well as the Pedophiles are people too poster found in Oregon, all push the unfounded notion that the LGBTQ community has been party to a concerted effort to legitimize and normalize pedophilia. Our previous investigations into these troll campaigns, however, has found that no legitimate LGBTQ organizations have created, endorsed, or promoted any such idea. Cameron Whitten, the executive director of the LGBTQ community and non-profit Q Center organization in Oregon, said of the mysterious poster that It's just very clear that this message was meant to stigmatize and stereotype LGBTQ people. At a time when we are facing homophobia, transphobia, it is not helpful for these kinds of harmful messages to be disseminated out. It should also be noted that while these fabricated campaigns have repeatedly attempted to link homosexuality with pedophilia, no such connection has actually been found: (en)
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