Hold Castanet accountable for platforming hate speech against the 2SLGBTQIA+ community
The Issue
THE TEXT PORTION OF THE LETTER IS AS FOLLOWS:
Hello,
We have written this letter to express our concerns regarding the content that is allowed within the Castanet Forums as well as Castanet’s conduct regarding coverage of trans/queer issues.
On March 21st, a thread was started with the topic of “The Cancelling of Women Continues”, this thread has now been continuously posted in for two months, with 1243 (updated no.) replies to the original post.
We will not mince words, this thread is filled with hate.
And when trans people speak up, they are immediately silenced and told what they have already seen in the thread countless times.
Castanet forums allow for an echo chamber where people refer to trans people as “men dominating women”, “mentally ill”, “trannies”, “freaks”, “groomers” and a myriad of other harmful terms or slurs.
This thread is not the first of its kind with others coming before it, echoing the same conspiracies and hate.
As a media company that aims to represent all of the stories and individuals of the Okanagan, these discussion forums do not reflect well on your site.
We do not ask that the forums be removed entirely, but rather that the moderation of the forums be expanded to include policy against hate speech.
Currently there is only a reporting system for racism only, all other sorts of bigotry seem to go completely unchecked.
This blind spot in moderation allows for people to rally behind hate speech and as a result, make society as a whole in the Okanagan less safe for those who are targeted and provide coordination for individuals who seek to spread hate.
In addition to this, Castanet’s handling of sensitive stories has proven to be disrespectful and misinformed.
When the drag storytime returned to the library, Castanet’s story on Jan 28th 2023 opened with a quote from a known nazi, saying that queer people are coming after kids.
When a young girl was accosted at a track meet, Castanet reported on it on Jun 12th 2023 with a sensationalized title, clearly hoping to use it as clickbait.
In addition to this, on Jun 13th 2023 Castanet platformed the violent transphobe who was heard by many people at the event to have been harassing the child and her parents, once again using terms like “mutilators”, “groomers”, and pedophiles, and imply that everything he said is just “allegations” despite the many eyewitnesses and testimonies.
This sloppy and harmful coverage of what are incredibly sensitive stories is completely unacceptable, and only serves to “other” trans and queer people. Telling the “opposing side” of a story is dangerous when it is based on opinion and not fact, especially so when what is being called into question is the right for transgender people to exist in public space
Castanet needs to understand that by platforming transphobes and providing an unmoderated forum for bigotry that they are responsible for fostering an environment for radicalist viewpoints which make society less safe for everyone.
The Okanagan 2SLGBTQIA+ community demands that Castanet releases a formal apology for it’s mishandling of sensitive stories, as well as make significant change to it’s forum moderation, as there is clearly a large alt-right presence.
In order to achieve these goals, it is recommended that Castanet follow these four strategies that have been created by the Ontario Digital Literacy and Access Network in collaboration with Advocacy Canada.
Sincerely,
Members and Allies of the Okanagan 2SLGBTQIA+ community
Petition Closed
The Issue
THE TEXT PORTION OF THE LETTER IS AS FOLLOWS:
Hello,
We have written this letter to express our concerns regarding the content that is allowed within the Castanet Forums as well as Castanet’s conduct regarding coverage of trans/queer issues.
On March 21st, a thread was started with the topic of “The Cancelling of Women Continues”, this thread has now been continuously posted in for two months, with 1243 (updated no.) replies to the original post.
We will not mince words, this thread is filled with hate.
And when trans people speak up, they are immediately silenced and told what they have already seen in the thread countless times.
Castanet forums allow for an echo chamber where people refer to trans people as “men dominating women”, “mentally ill”, “trannies”, “freaks”, “groomers” and a myriad of other harmful terms or slurs.
This thread is not the first of its kind with others coming before it, echoing the same conspiracies and hate.
As a media company that aims to represent all of the stories and individuals of the Okanagan, these discussion forums do not reflect well on your site.
We do not ask that the forums be removed entirely, but rather that the moderation of the forums be expanded to include policy against hate speech.
Currently there is only a reporting system for racism only, all other sorts of bigotry seem to go completely unchecked.
This blind spot in moderation allows for people to rally behind hate speech and as a result, make society as a whole in the Okanagan less safe for those who are targeted and provide coordination for individuals who seek to spread hate.
In addition to this, Castanet’s handling of sensitive stories has proven to be disrespectful and misinformed.
When the drag storytime returned to the library, Castanet’s story on Jan 28th 2023 opened with a quote from a known nazi, saying that queer people are coming after kids.
When a young girl was accosted at a track meet, Castanet reported on it on Jun 12th 2023 with a sensationalized title, clearly hoping to use it as clickbait.
In addition to this, on Jun 13th 2023 Castanet platformed the violent transphobe who was heard by many people at the event to have been harassing the child and her parents, once again using terms like “mutilators”, “groomers”, and pedophiles, and imply that everything he said is just “allegations” despite the many eyewitnesses and testimonies.
This sloppy and harmful coverage of what are incredibly sensitive stories is completely unacceptable, and only serves to “other” trans and queer people. Telling the “opposing side” of a story is dangerous when it is based on opinion and not fact, especially so when what is being called into question is the right for transgender people to exist in public space
Castanet needs to understand that by platforming transphobes and providing an unmoderated forum for bigotry that they are responsible for fostering an environment for radicalist viewpoints which make society less safe for everyone.
The Okanagan 2SLGBTQIA+ community demands that Castanet releases a formal apology for it’s mishandling of sensitive stories, as well as make significant change to it’s forum moderation, as there is clearly a large alt-right presence.
In order to achieve these goals, it is recommended that Castanet follow these four strategies that have been created by the Ontario Digital Literacy and Access Network in collaboration with Advocacy Canada.
Sincerely,
Members and Allies of the Okanagan 2SLGBTQIA+ community
Petition Updates
Share this petition
Petition created on June 13, 2023