Earlier this week the national Canadian newspaper the National Post ran a horrific transphobic ad that attacked children. Today, the publication has acknowledged its mistake in running the ad by issuing a very public apology. Details follow.

Printed this week in the paper, the ad for the Institute for Canadian Values includes sickening copy: "I'm a girl. Don't teach me to question if I'm a boy, transexual, transgendered, intersex or two spirited."

LGBT groups from around the world immediately chastized the paper for spreading such transphobia at a time when a bullying epidemic finds most of its victims in the gay and trans youth populations.

Though the fine line between free speech and an affront to journalistic integrity makes it unwise for any publication to refrain from publishing something just because it might be unpopular, the Post admits this ad crossed that line. The paper will no longer print the ad and has promised to donate any profits received from it to Canadian LGBT groups.

Reads an editorial written by the National Post staff:

The National Post has procedures in place for vetting the content of advertising, especially advocacy advertising. The procedures are intended to ensure that such ads meet a standard of tone and respect that is consistent with furthering constructive dialogue about important public policy issues.

In this case, those procedures were not followed. An ad that should not have run in its proposed form was allowed to run.

This ad will not run in the National Post again.

The fact that we will not be publishing this ad again represents a recognition on our part that publishing it in the first place was a mistake. The National Post would like to apologize unreservedly to anyone who was offended by it. We will be taking steps to ensure that in future our procedures for vetting the content of advertising will be strictly adhered to.

The Post will also be donating the proceeds from the advertisement to an organization that promotes the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people.

Satisfied with the publication's response, Instincters?

Comments (3)

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written by Denise, October 02, 2011

Thank you for your decision and reasoning. It may not undo the damage caused but will hopefully ensure future advertisers will look closer at their applicants content.

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written by Ted, October 03, 2011

Readers who are fair-minded can see for themselves (at http://www.canadianvalues.ca/docs/Events.html )
that the ad did not attack children at all. Instinct has totally misrepresented the ad, the purpose of which was to protect children from propaganda disguised as education.

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written by Socrates, October 04, 2011

Ted,

Education allows minds to open - propaganda forces minds to close. This ad is obviously the latter.

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