Fox Corp., the parent company of Fox News, has been marketing itself as pro-LGBTQ in material to shareholders and ad buyers. Those claims are in stark contrast to Fox News’ actual programming, which has been waging a campaign of anti-LGBTQ hate.
Fox News has spent years attacking LGBTQ equality, including attacking transgender people; campaigning against non-discrimination measures; and fighting marriage equality.
More recently, Fox News has been defending Florida’s passage of the “Don’t Say Gay” bill and attacking Disney’s opposition to the law as pro-”grooming,” among other attacks. During a recent week, Fox News spent over 3 hours freaking out about Disney and the Florida law.
Simultaneously, Fox Corp. has claimed that it is “committed to LGBTQ+ equality and inclusion” and wants to support “causes important to the LGBTQ+ community,” and has promoted its partnership with LGBTQ organizations. It has also claimed that Fox News “celebrates diversity through” pro-LGBTQ programming and wants to “promote a more inclusive work environment” for LGBTQ individuals.
The following are some of Fox’s attempts to position itself as a pro-LGBTQ company.
Fox Corp. said it is “proud” to have received a Human Rights Campaign Foundation “100% score” (later revoked). In its 2021 corporate social responsibility report, Fox Corp. touted that it has “received a 100% score in the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s 2021 Corporate Equality Index (CEI) – our third year earning top marks. The score gives FOX the distinction of ‘Best Places to Work for LGBTQ Equality.’” The report also stated that Fox was “recognized as a DiversityComm Top Employer and top LGBTQ+ Friendly Company from 2020 to 2021.”