Activists have reportedly filed complaints over a trans athlete billboard by the Telegraph, which they branded as “targeted” and “hostile.”
Members of the public expressed their shock after pictures of the news publisher’s billboard outside a pub in Worthing, West Sussex were shared online.
The advertisement, which appears to have popped up in various locations across the UK, features a minimalist white background with The Telegraph’s logo, website URL, and a statement reading: “Should athletes born as men be muscling in on women’s sports?”
Similar signs with a variety of messages on the Ukrainian war, LGBTQ+ rights, and the economy have been spotted across London and beyond.
The women’s sports billboard has been heavily criticised since being shared on social media, with some branding it as “offensive” and denouncing the wording of the statement.
The Trans Advocacy and Complaints Collective (TACC), a grassroots organisation which aims to push back against transphobic rhetoric through formal complaints and campaigns, wrote that it believes the billboard to be a “targeted, hostile message” directed at the trans community.
“The phrase ‘muscling in’ is no accident,” a spokesperson for the group continued. “It’s a dog whistle designed to paint trans women as aggressive invaders. It’s the same rhetoric that’s been used historically to justify exclusion, violence, and moral panic.”
Telegraph billboard ‘singles out transgender women’, trans group argues
The organisation made a complaint to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), which regulates advertisements in the UK through its non-legally enforceable code of advertising practices (CAP), and urged others to do the same.
The complaint, which it shared on its website, accuses the billboard of being “inflammatory” and “prejudicial,” arguing that it “singles out transgender women and contributes to public hostility towards a minority community with a protected characteristic under the 2010 Equality Act.”
Code rule 4.1 of ASA’s code of advertising practices states that advertisements in the UK “must not contain anything that is likely to cause serious or widespread offence” and must take “particular care” to avoid offending protected communities, including those on the grounds of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability, or age.”
TACC argued that the phrase “muscling in” breached the regulator’s code rule, saying that it carries “aggressive connotations” and reinforces a narrative that trans women are a “physical threat” to other women.
“This is a recurring tactic in anti-trans discource, which has been used to manufacture moral panic and social division. Far from asking an open question, the ad employs loaded language that stirs fear and resentment.”
Additionally, the complaint argues that the Telegraph’s slogan, “we speak your mind,” implies that the statement is “universal” and that the majority of the public is in “agreement with its stance.”
“This is misleading and socially harmful – it marginalises individuals by presenting a one-sided, hostile view as though it is the public consensus.”
The Telegraph has become infamous for its regular coverage of trans people, the majority of which has been branded as “negative.”
Much of this focuses on trans athletes, including specific athletes such as cyclist Emily Bridges or swimmer Lia Thomas.
A 2023 report on the rise of articles referencing trans people in right-wing press, which analysed the number of articles published in the first month of each year since 2016, revealed that the Telegraph had published 75 articles in January 2023 in its print editions alone. Comparitevly, a year prior, it has published just 12.
The report also analysed the negativity of each article, finding that, of the 75 articles published in January 2023, 73 were considered negative, two were considered neutral, and none were positive.
PinkNews has contacted the Telegraph for comment.
The post The Telegraph faces complaints over ‘anti-trans’ billboard: ‘It stirs fear and resentment’ appeared first on PinkNews | Latest lesbian, gay, bi and trans news | LGBTQ+ news.