Thread by @joshuabadge

If you are angry about this then I encourage you to submit a complaint to the Australian Press Council. Here's a quick thread on how to do that, it takes less than 5 minutes (1/8)

https://twitter.com/joshuabadge/status/1226658849379086336

Go to the APC complaints page, scroll down to the bottom and click 'Make a Complaint"

presscouncil.org.au/making-a-compl… (2/8)

You'll need to put in some personal details and the details of the story, which are:

"Health chiefs can’t ignore ‘global epidemic’ of transgender teens" Feb 8 2020

theaustralian.com.au/nation/health-…

(You can read the title and opening in the original tweet) (3/8)

You will need to write the reason for your complaint based on the APC's General Principles which you can read here:

presscouncil.org.au/statements-of-…

(Principle 1 and 6 are the most relevant in this case) (4/8)

I wrote something along the lines of:

"This article compares trans teens to coronavirus and it promotes the “social contagion” conspiracy theory debunked by the Australian Psychological Society. These statements are inaccurate and misleading which contradict Principle 1." (5/8)

"Further, it is dehumanising and harmful to compare human beings to virus. In my view, this statement breaches Principle 6 by contributing substantially to offence, distress and prejudice against trans people." (6/8)

You'll need to answer if you're directly affected by the article (if you're trans/GNC, the answer is yes). In this case, I wrote something like: "As a member of the LGBTIQ community I have an interest in ensuring that representation of trans people is fair and accurate" (7/8)

I especially recommend that trans, gender non-conforming people to make a "primary complaint" as people affected, but everyone can submit a complaint about this harmful, dehumanising article. We need to look after each other now more than ever ✌️(8/8)