Texas has been criticized by an LGBTQIA+ rights organization for the legislation applied in that American state, but there is no ban on the use of the gay pride flag in schools.
“It’s official: Texas declares it a crime to bring the gay pride flag into the classroom.” The claim is spread on social networks in posts where links are shared to other sites that are not informative (one of them is satirical, the others spread fake news).
In the images two girls appear wearing t-shirts with the inscription “State of Texas” and, in the other image, another girl holds the rainbow flag, a symbol of the gay community and the LGBTQIA+ movement. The link to the analyzed publication redirects the Facebook user to a website that spreads false information. In other posts, the shared link redirects users to a satirical website called Esspots, where this post originated.
On the site there is a warning about what is published on it: “This is a website specialized in satire, parody and humor. Before reading any content, we would like to emphasize that nothing on this site is real. All articles, stories and comments are completely fictional and created for the sole purpose of entertainment.”
There is no evidence that a decision of this type has been made in the American state of Texas. In the articles shared in the link, statements by the state governor, Republican Greg Abbot, also appear during a supposed signing ceremony for the aforementioned legislation. “No child in Texas should be exposed to a rainbow unless it is in a coloring book, on the weather forecast, or on the Lucky Charms box at the grocery store,” the quote reads. But there is also no evidence, on credible websites, that these statements have been made.
On the satirical website where this text first appeared, it is mentioned that the legislation is called the “Holiness in the Classroom Law,” however, there is no record of a law with this name on official state websites. There is also no record of any ceremony attended by the governor of Texas, such as the one described.
Greg Abbot has been criticized by LGBTQIA+ rights organizations who, earlier this year, wrote a letter to the United Nations warning about the situation in Texas, citing seven specific laws that they believed would “disrupt the lives of LGBTQIA+ people.” . various ages and origins.” The laws, the letter said, “are a systemic attack on the fundamental rights, dignities and identities of LGBTQIA+ people.” Among the legislations referred to there is nothing similar to what appears in this publication analyzed here.
Conclusion
In recent years, Texas has been at the center of criticism from organizations that defend LGBTQIA+ rights due to legislation that they consider harmful to those same rights. But there is no record on official or credible websites of a ban on the use of the gay pride flag in the school environment. The posts shared are based on a text that was originally published on a humor website.
Thus, according to the Observer classification system, this content is:
MISTAKEN
In Facebook’s rating system, this content is:
FAKE: Claims about the main content are factually inaccurate. Generally, this option corresponds to “false” or “mostly false” ratings on fact-checking websites.
NOTE: This content was curated by Observador as part of a fact-checking partnership with Facebook.
Source: Observadora
