Media Literacy Campaign Against the Stigmatization of LGBT+ Persons: Same Panic, New Targets

The action represents a rapid communication response to the rise of disinformation, hate speech, and anti-LGBT+ narratives in the Slovenian public sphere. A consortium of five organisations will implement a public advertising campaign highlighting the mechanisms of stigmatisation currently being used against the LGBT+ community.

As anti-LGBT+ messages become increasingly normalised and visible in the public sphere, we recognise the need for a timely counter-response based on human rights, critical thinking, and verified information.

The proposed campaign, which will be developed as part of the action, responds to the need for a broader societal discussion about how moral panics emerge, how patterns of stigmatisation recur throughout history, and how such processes can be recognised before they escalate into overt discrimination and violence.

Important elements of the action’s relevance include involving young people in the development of campaign messages and visual identity, as well as strengthening cooperation between organisations working in the fields of human rights, advocacy, and responses to disinformation.

The aim of the action is to increase the ability to recognise disinformation, encourage critical thinking, strengthen media literacy, and contribute to a more inclusive public discourse based on human rights. The campaign will be implemented through outdoor advertising, digital media, print advertisements, and online communication channels, reaching a broad audience across Slovenia.

The primary target group of the campaign is the general public, particularly people who do not have strongly formed views on LGBT+ issues and are susceptible to disinformation and simplified media narratives. The secondary target group consists of LGBT+ people and communities who are directly affected by increasing stigmatisation and hate speech.

For the first target group, the campaign aims to strengthen critical thinking and media literacy, while for the second, it aims to contribute to greater visibility, a stronger sense of support, and social inclusion.

Young people’s participation in human rights initiatives will be increased through their involvement in developing a public response for the campaign and in preparing its creative concept and visual identity. 1 workshop with young LGBT+ people will be organised, during which a public response to hate speech and disinformation will be developed in the form of content to be used in the campaign. The target is the participation of ten young queer people. A young designer will also be selected to develop the campaign’s visual identity and final graphics, including at least 5 different campaign messages/visuals.

The visibility of the issue of disinformation and stigma against the LGBT+ community in the public sphere will be increased. A comprehensive advertising campaign will be implemented, reaching between 150,000 and 250,000 views. The campaign will include communication messages and advertisements, a public advertising campaign in physical spaces, digital advertisements and online promotion of the campaign, as well as media coverage and social media posts. The campaign will achieve between 150,000 and 250,000 exposures.

Cooperation between organisations will be established through a joint campaign responding to disinformation and the stigmatisation of LGBT+ people. As part of this cooperation, joint meetings (minimum 2) will be held and joint posts will be prepared.