Following the release of the new Title IX rules, Fox News dedicated 19 segments — including 9 solo interviews — to the topic. OutKick host Riley Gaines featured most frequently as a guest, but other interviews included Govs. Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Ron DeSantis, and state Attorneys General Jason Miyares and Ashley Moody. 

In more than a quarter of segments about the new regulations, hosts or guests rejected the premise of the update by claiming at least once that trans people do not exist, that trans people are mentally ill, or that trans identity is not a legitimate protected characteristic. For instance, in this segment on America Reports:

Additionally, 84% of segments about the new rules (16 out of 19) included at least 1 claim that referred to trans women or girls — the presumed beneficiaries of the new regulations — as “men,” “boys,” or “males.” Such claims appeared 34 times in 16 separate segments. Two of the 3 segments that did not include such claims were headline reports — brief announcements usually read by the host in rapid succession — and did not feature a guest. 

By implicitly or explicitly denying the legitimacy of trans identity, Fox News hosts and guests challenged the Department of Education premise that all students should be protected “against discrimination based on sex stereotypes, sexual orientation, gender identity, and sex characteristics.” 

While the new regulations did not include commentary on trans inclusion in student athletics, the majority of Fox segments about the Title IX update raised the topic of women's sports. 

More than half of the segments went further, including claims that suggested trans women should not be allowed to compete in women's sports (a total of 12 separate claims), claims that suggested opposition to the new rules was based on a desire to “protect” women's sports (a total of 9 separate claims), or both such claims.

Forty-two percent of Fox segments on the Title IX rewrite also included at least 1 claim suggesting that trans women would steal scholastic or nonathletic opportunities from cis women. 

In the last year, right-wing media figures have claimed that trans women possess an unfair advantage in both physical and intellectual sports, often speaking in tandem with legislators and officials seeking to ban trans women and girls from competition. Even though trans adults account for just 0.5% of the population and there are fewer than 40 openly trans athletes estimated among the more than 500,000 who compete in NCAA divisions, right-wing media figures like Riley Gaines have urged elected officials to make banning trans women and girls from sport a priority, priming discussions of Title IX to revolve around that topic.     

Claims suggesting that trans women would pose a sexual threat to cis women under the new regulations appeared in 37% of segments, with hosts and guests insisting that protecting against discrimination based on gender identity would make gender-specific spaces such as bathrooms, locker rooms, and dorm rooms unsafe. For instance, in this segment on Faulkner Focus: 

More than a quarter of segments (26%) included claims suggesting that trans students pose a physical threat to campuses or students, reflecting an increasingly frequent trend in anti-trans misinformation that paints trans people as uniquely violent. 

In fact, according to the Williams Institute, “transgender people are over four times more likely than cisgender people to be victims of violent crime.” Subsequent research has found that trans and gender-nonconforming people under the age of 30 may face fatal violence at a disproportionate rate. 

Media Matters searched transcripts in the SnapStream video database for all original programming on Fox News Channel for any of the terms “Title IX,” “Title 9,” or “Title Nine” or any variations of any of the terms “discriminate,” “harass,” “regulate,” or “violence” within close proximity of the term “gender” or any variation of the term “sex” from April 19, 2024, when the U.S. Department of Education released the new Title IX rules, through May 31, 2024. 

We included segments, which we defined as instances when the new Title IX rules released by the U.S. Department of Education were the stated topic of discussion or when we found significant discussion of the new rules. We defined significant discussion as instances when two or more speakers in a multitopic segment discussed the new rules with one another.

We did not include mentions, which we defined as instances when a single speaker in a segment on another topic mentioned the new rules without another speaker in the segment engaging with the comment, or teasers, which we defined as instances when the anchor or host promoted a segment about the new rules scheduled to air later in the broadcast.

We then reviewed the identified segments for claims, which we defined as instances of uninterrupted blocks of speech by a single speaker. For host monologues, correspondent reports, and headline reports, we defined a claim as the speech between read quotes and played clips. We did not consider the speech within a read quote or played clip unless a speaker in the segment positively affirmed said speech either directly before or after the quote was read or the clip was played.

We included any anti-trans claims suggesting that trans athletes should not be included in women’s sports or that the inclusion of trans women would necessarily push cis women out of school sports; that trans students would steal scholastic or nonathletic opportunities or scholarships from cis students; that trans students pose a danger to women by using the same locker room facilities or dorm rooms; that trans students pose a physical threat to students or campuses; that the new regulations are a violation of parents' rights; that the new regulations are a violation of free speech; that trans people do not exist, are mentally ill, or that trans identity is not a legitimate protected characteristic; or that trans people should be excluded from areas of life other than education. We also included any claims that referred to trans women or girls as “men,” “boys,” or “males.”