In his October 25, 2010 broadcast of The Savage Nation, nationally renowned homophobe Michael Savage did his best to blame the contraction of throat cancer on gay men:

Did you hear this? Oral sex between men is bringing about a rise in men's throat cancer, as well as a few other risk factors. Would you like to hear what they are? Would you like to hear this? Oh, that's right, how about marijuana? Oral sex amongst men and marijuana smoking seem to be correlated in the increase of men's throat cancer. It's a horrible type of cancer. Horrible. Just horrible horrible horrible!

Although ABC News did release an article regarding a study that links oral sex to certain cancers, the article never attributes this to gay men, as Savage does. In fact, the article never mentions oral sex between two men at all. The study does say that oral cancers as well as those in the neck and head can be caused by Human Papillomavirus (or HPV), which is, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, just as common in women as it is in men. In addition to contracting HPV through oral sex, the article claims that the virus can also be transmitted through other means, like open-mouth kissing, or sexual intercourse. The article never mentions sexual orientation at all.

Melody Johnson is an intern at Media Matters for America