Bad Ink : How the NY Time sold out transgender teens, Riki Wilchins
- Crafty Goblin
- Mar 13
- 2 min read
Updated: Mar 16
BAD INK : HOW THE NEW YORK TIME SOLD OUT TRANSGENDER TEENS
Author : Riki Wilchins
Publisher : Riverdale Avenue Books
Released : 09 July 2024
Page count : 350
Format : Digital ARC
Genre : Non-Fiction, Activism
Content warnings : Transphobia
Source : NetGalley
Representation : LGBTQIA**+**
Part of a Series : No
★★★★☆ — I really liked this book
Quote from the book:
“Someone has made the decision for the paper of record to publish a torrent of anti-trans propaganda, and to do so at a moment when trans people are being attacked in state legislatures. Given the urgency of the situation, it is a matter of public interest to figure out how exactly the situation at the Times got this dire.”
Pros: It is a fabulous work of journalism, a monstrous fact-checking work and an eye opening about how the mainstream news medium are bought and used as a political and misinformation scene for fake and biased “bonne moeurs”.
Cons: Not an easy read without some knowledge on US political scene and actions and legislatures against trans care.
Summary :
In BAD INK, award-winning trans activist Riki Wilchins, definitively chronicles how and why the nation’s newspaper of record became the leading national voice for attacking transgender kids.
Beginning in 2015 just as A. G. Sulzberger was taking over as Publisher, the New York Times underwent a strange shift: from its long-time support for transgender rights overnight it became the nation’s leading voice attacking transgender kids. In nearly 70,000 words in dozens of articles, it attacked their right to transition, to medical care, to sports participation—even the very idea that they were transgender. It was—as Tom Scocca summed up in Popula— “a plain old-fashioned newspaper crusade,”But the Times’ crusade wasn’t based on new reporting or fresh medical evidence, but on talking points being promoted by white Christian nationalist organizations devoted to eradicating gay and transgender people. And it was timed just as MAGA politicians introduced over 1,000 bills in scores of states to outlaw every aspect of trans kids’ lives.
It was all apparently part of Sulzberger’s new plan to remake that liberal rag so it could appeal to right-wing readers for the digital age. And unfortunately, it worked.
My Thoughts on this Book :
I spent more time than usual on this book because I wanted to take seriously the monstrous work done on this book. I research and double check the information provided in the book along my read and it was easy as Riki didn't just wrote a magnificent book but also provide so much sources and fact-check footnote, that it threw me in a rabbit hole of research about Trans care and all the misinformation campaign ran in background (or not so much for some) by the white christian groups. I was already pretty educated on the subject but this book pushed me so much deeper and farther. This book should be required reading at least for people leading to a journalistic career and for those with a media platform in political and social environments. +bonus for the wit and sarcasms here and there.
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