April 21, 2012 | Sex & Society

Online AIDS prevention project attacked as 'gay porn'

Fox News strikes again. According to Media Matters, the news network has helped to spread false accusations levelled by the anti-gay Traditional Values Coalition. The Coalition - designated a hate group by Southern Poverty Law Center -  this week published a list of National Institute of Health (NIH) grants it finds "horrible." Number 5 among the "horribles" is the Sexpulse project, an interactive online experience aimed at engaging gay men and, ultimately, reducing risky behavior and the incidence of HIV. 

The Coalition claims the NIH has spent at least $5 million of taxpayer money for gay porn. And Fox News repeated the accusations on FoxNews.com, the Fox Nation blog and one of its radio shows. Here is the banner on the Coalition website:

Sexpulse - which is not accessible to the general public - has been in development for several years. It's meant to be entertaining and designed to change behavior both through education and boosting self-esteem. It has fourteen sections with titles such as Hit the Gym, addressing body image, and Sex Calculator, which helps the user understand what leads him to do something risky. There is a practice chat room with tools for teaching how to set expectations. There are sexually explicit images and videos along with graphic language on the site because it's relevant and helps keep users - sexually active gay men - interested.

The Traditional Values Coalition clearly despises the LGBT community. On its website it claims that  “since homosexuals can’t reproduce, they will simply go after your children for seduction and conversion to homosexuality.” Elsewhere, it claims that “the effort to push adult/child sex … is part of the overall homosexual movement.” The website also attacks the idea that people are born gay and suggests the real purpose of marriage equality is to destroy traditional male-femal marriage and replace it with polygamy.

Freedom of speech is one thing, but responsible journalism is another. The vitriolic hatred that is the source of the attack on Sexpulse did not prevent Fox News from picking up and running with this "story." Guess we shouldn't be surprised.

Fox News promotes another anti-gay attack On NIH over homoerotic website  [Media Matters]