LGBTQ+ People’s Safety Has Plummeted Across Social Media Platforms

Six of the nation’s leading social media platforms are failing to keep LGBTQ users safe from online bullying and harassment and quell the spread of disinformation, according to a new report from GLAAD, an LGBTQ media advocacy group.

via: Advocate

The report, now in its fifth year, delivers a sobering snapshot of an online environment increasingly hostile to LGBTQ expression, particularly for transgender and nonbinary people. GLAAD’s scorecard, which evaluates six major platforms—TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, YouTube, and X—found that every company received a failing score. TikTok was rated highest at just 56 out of 100. X, formerly Twitter, scored the lowest at 30.

“At a time when real-world violence and harassment against LGBTQ+ people is on the rise, social media companies are profiting from the flames of anti-LGBTQ+ hate instead of ensuring the basic safety of LGBTQ+ users,” GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis said in a statement. “These low scores should terrify anyone who cares about creating safer, more inclusive online spaces.”

The most alarming developments detailed in the report include Meta’s overhaul of its “Hateful Conduct” policy to permit users to characterize LGBTQ+ people as mentally ill—language GLAAD says echoes political and religious attacks aimed squarely at the trans community. YouTube, meanwhile, removed “gender identity and expression” from its list of protected characteristics under its hate speech policy, a quiet but significant policy change that leaves trans users vulnerable to targeted abuse, the report notes.

GLAAD’s findings also spotlight a dual crisis: platforms are failing to moderate anti-LGBTQ+ hate while simultaneously suppressing legitimate LGBTQ+ expression. The organization documented patterns of wrongful account removals, demonetization, shadowbanning, and the mislabeling of LGBTQ+ content as “explicit.” These actions often happen without explanation and disproportionately affect creators who depend on visibility and monetization to sustain their work.

In Meta’s case, the report notes that the company not only removed key protections but also announced it would abandon its internal diversity, equity, and inclusion programs. These changes come amid broader political attacks on LGBTQ+ rights and mirror the growing influence of anti-LGBTQ+ disinformation across tech platforms.

GLAAD’s scorecard uses 14 indicators adapted from the respected Ranking Digital Rights framework and evaluates public-facing policies on hate speech, transparency, privacy, advertising, and workforce diversity. According to GLAAD, due to changes in methodology, the 2025 scores are not directly comparable to prior years, but the trend line is unmistakable: platforms are rolling back protections, while hate and harassment surge.

The report calls for urgent action, encouraging platforms to reinstate policies against misgendering and deadnaming, clearly ban “conversion therapy” content, and increase transparency around moderation and enforcement practices. GLAAD also recommends public disclosure of voluntary LGBTQ+ employee demographics and an end to surveillance-based ad targeting that exploits users’ identities.

Despite these systemic failures, the SMSI affirms the critical role social media plays in the lives of LGBTQ+ people, especially young people, people of color, and those living in hostile regions. These platforms remain spaces for connection, creativity, and survival. However, as GLAAD makes clear, those spaces are only as safe as the policies that govern them.

“We need to hold the line — as tech companies are taking unprecedented leaps backwards, we remain firm in advocating for basic best practices that protect the safety of LGBTQ people on these platforms," senior director of social media safety at GLAAD, Jenni Olson, said in a statement. “This is not normal. Our communities deserve to live in a world that does not generate or profit off of hate.”