Misinformation is the defining feature of public discourse on transgender people and their rights in the United States and the United Kingdom today and the foremost obstacle to advancing the cause of gender equality. Drawing on a range of frameworks from the fields of sociology, political science, and media studies, this talk explores the content, contexts, and consequences of media misinformation about transgender issues and identities in both countries, explaining the individual and societal roots of misinformation belief. Moreover, it addresses disinformation’s role in anti-transgender movements’ political strategies, why these strategies work, and what can be done to curb disinformation’s influence on policy and public opinion.

TJ Billard is an Assistant Professor in the School of Communication at Northwestern University and Executive Director of the Center for Applied Transgender Studies in Chicago, USA. They are the author of Voices for Transgender Equality: Making Change in the Networked Public Sphere (Oxford University Press, 2024) and editor-in-chief of the Bulletin of Applied Transgender Studies.

https://x.com/thomasjbillard
billard@northwestern.edu

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Chapters:
0:00 - Welcome
3:10 - Introduction
4:20 - New book: Voices for Transgender Equality
8:00 - What we know about anti-trans campaigns
11:02 - Disinformation / Misinformation
18:47 - The health and human rights framework
24:53 - A dependency model of misinformation
35:30 - Social change, ambiguity + dependency
40:30 - Mis/disinformation resolve ambiguity
45:18 - Personal media systems + mis/disinformation
47:06 - Mis/disinformation shapes the policy of the state
50:19 - Anti-trans disinformation as political strategy
50:25 - Mainstream Media disinformation
52:58 - Paid for anti-trans disinformation
53:44 - Unlikely alliances
55:08 - What do we do about it?
58:50 - Bulletin of Applied Transgender Studies
59:31 - Thank you / Contact Details
59:43 - Chairs Comments
1:01:02 - Q1: Disinformation as distraction; the profitability of disinformation
1:06:50 - Q2: Worldwide picture
1:11:59 - Q3: Lived experience in China / parental ownership
1:20:37 - Q4: Disinformation in schools and effects on bullying
1:25:17 - Q5: Mis vs disinformation, responsibility and effects
1:27:55 - Q6: Fighting disinformation at the community level
1:33:28 - Q7: De-escalating conflict / academic freedom
1:36:50 - End of event thanks