Port Angeles resident Susan Shotthafer’s Feb. 1 letter (“Legislators: Repeal bills that endanger children,” Sequim Gazette, Feb. 8, page A-10) is a perfect example of why it’s so crucial to check sources of information during this age of disinformation.
In arguing that professional standards of care for gender dysphoria (ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK532313) endanger children, she cites as her main source articles in the Epoch Times.
Founded in 2000, the far-right Epoch Times is closely affiliated with the Falun Gong cult, whose authoritarian founder wrote that being gay was “disgusting” and “dirty” (culteducation.com/group/1254-falun-gong/6922-is-falun-gong-a-cult.html).
The Epoch Times uses social media to push conspiracy theories, including QAnon, “stop the steal,” and anti-vaccine theories.
Using stories sourced from a far-right religious cult, Ms. Shotthafer demanded the repeal of a Washington law restricting the harmful, debunked practice of gender identity conversion therapy as well as laws protecting healthcare privacy. Yet professional organizations like the American Medical Association and American Psychiatric Association overwhelmingly embrace the standard gender dysphoria treatments opposed by the Epoch Times.
In the upcoming 2023 elections, our own local conspiracy theorists will be busy spreading stories taken from unreliable sources like the Epoch Times. Some of them will likely run for school board, city council, and other public decision-making positions.
Once again – and throughout this destructive era of disinformation – each of us should check the sources of stories, claims, and “facts.” And vote accordingly.
Marsha Maguire
Source: https://www.sequimgazette.com/letters/letters-to-the-editor-feb-15-2023/
