Social Media

Facebook users who don’t fit any of the 58 gender identity options offered by the social media giant are now being given a rather big 59th option: fill in the blank.

NEW YORK — Facebook is apologizing to drag performers and the transgender community for deleting accounts that used drag names like Lil Miss Hot Mess rather than legal names such as Bob Smith. The world’s biggest online social network caught heat recently when it deleted several hundred accounts belonging to self-described drag queens…

SAN FRANCISCO — San Francisco drag performers are sparring with Facebook over its policy requiring people to use their real names, rather than drag names such as Pollo Del Mar and Heklina. But the world’s biggest social network is not budging from its rules. In recent weeks, Facebook has been deleting the profiles of self-described drag queens and …

A new study from Italy finds that social networking sites like Facebook have a negative impact on individuals’ mental well-being, as well as their levels of social trust, because of their exposure to hate speech and other offensive content. Researchers analyzed a wide representative sample of 50,000 Italian citizens, assessing how much they interacted with social media and how they…

MENLO PARK, Calif. — You don’t have to identify as male or female on Facebook anymore. The social media giant is adding a customizable option with about 50 different terms people can use to identify their gender as well as three preferred pronoun choices: him, her or them.

NEW YORK — Despite seven months of international outcry, Russia’s law restricting gay-rights activity remains in place. Yet the eclectic protest campaign has heartened activists in Russia and caught the attention of its targets — including organizers and sponsors of the Sochi Olympics that open on Feb. 7.

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia — A new anti-gay group has emerged on the popular Russian social network Vkontakte (vk.com) offering rewards for reporting “confirmed” information on gay school teachers, reports Queer Russia.

MOSCOW — Russian authorities have initiated criminal proceedings against a Russian ultra-nationalist responsible for several homophobic assaults on LGBT persons, including attacks on citizens from Ukraine, Iraq, and South Africa.

A French gay rights group said on Monday it plans to file a law suit against Twitter for violating the country’s hate speech laws following the emergence of the hashtag “#Gays must die,” which topped Twitter’s “trending topics” over the weekend.

KAMENSK-URAL, Russia — A network of loosely organized groups of Russian ultra-nationalists are targeting LGBT youth for bullying and assault by creating fake social media profiles and gay personals to attract unsuspecting victims.