The Tea: In an update to its Hateful Conduct Policy social media app Discord has explicitly banned the misgendering and deadnaming of transgender and non-binary users.

The Context: Social media is rife with anti-LGBTQ hate speech, and major platforms are failing to protect LGBTQ+ folks against it.

• Earlier this year, GLAAD’s third annual Social Media Safety Index found that all five major social media platforms – Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and Twitter – fail to protect LGBTQ+ users from hate speech
• X/Twitter was found to be the worst perpetrator of anti-LGBTQ hate speech, receiving condemnation from the Human Rights Campaign for running a transphobic platform-wide advertising campaign, and prompting the Trevor Project to leave the platform altogether.

The Bigger Picture: While the major social media companies still struggle to clamp down on hate speech, smaller niche platforms are creating safe spaces for queer folks:

• Social media company Post has updated its policies to bolster protections for members of the LGBTQ+ community, particularly transgender users.
• Spill, a Twitter alternative created with Black and LGBTQ+ people in mind, has been at the forefront of creating a safe space for queer and trans users

What folks are saying: GLAAD applauded the moves by Discord and Post as a step in the right direction toward proactively protecting LGBTQ+ social media users, while urging other platforms to do better.