Hate Speech in Belarusian Media in 2025: Monitoring of LGBTQ+ Representation
The 2025 monitoring of hate speech against LGBTQ+ people in Belarusian media, conducted by the human rights initiative Journalists for Tolerance (J4T), presents alarming findings. Over a ten-month period (January–October 2025), the study documented both a continued prevalence of hostile rhetoric and a deepening polarisation between independent and pro-government outlets.
Shrinking Visibility, Growing Hostility
Although fewer media outlets reported on LGBTQ+ topics in 2025 (20 out of 36, compared to 27 in 2024), the total number of materials increased by 20%. This paradox is explained by increased concentration: the outlets that still write on LGBTQ+ issues now do so more frequently. However, most of this content appeared in national outlets, while local media have almost entirely disengaged from covering LGBTQ+ topics.
Alarmingly, only 36% of all LGBTQ+-related articles were dedicated to the topic — in most cases, LGBTQ+ people were mentioned only briefly, often as passing references in a broader political or cultural context. This fragmentation of coverage contributes to the dehumanisation and marginalisation of the community.
Hostile Rhetoric Now the Norm
In 2025, 52% of the monitored publications contained incorrect terminology, compared to 48% using respectful and accurate language. This marks a further decline from 2023–2024, when correct wording slightly outweighed incorrect usage. More critically, nine out of ten publications that used incorrect terminology also included hate speech — a sharp indicator of the correlation between linguistic carelessness and active hostility.
Even more troubling is the fact that 7% of texts using formally correct language still contained hate speech — demonstrating how even surface-level neutrality may mask deeper ideological aggression. This phenomenon, first observed in 2022, has remained stable through 2025.
Overall, 51% of all LGBTQ+-related content in 2025 contained hate speech — a level consistent with 2023–2024 but more than double the 24% recorded in 2021. The main drivers of this rise are pro-government media campaigns against so-called “LGBT propaganda,” especially in the context of broader repression and ideological control.
“Extremist” Media Are Safer
A striking contrast emerges when comparing state-acknowledged “extremist” media with pro-government outlets. 91% of publications from “extremist” media (i.e., independent, often exiled sources) were correct, and only 3% contained hate speech. In contrast, 78% of publications from non-“extremist” (i.e., loyalist) media used incorrect terminology, and 80% incited hatred. In essence, readers of official Belarusian media are likely to encounter hate speech in 8 out of 10 articles that mention LGBTQ+ people.
The trend is even more pronounced in Telegram channels, where 75% of LGBTQ+-related posts included hate speech, compared to 28% on websites.
Internal Fragmentation of LGBTQ+ Visibility
The monitoring also analysed how different groups within the LGBTQ+ spectrum were represented. The most common terms were “LGBT”, “gay”, “transgender”, “same-sex marriage”, and “non-traditional values”. The use of derogatory language — including phrases such as “sodomites”, “LGBT propaganda”, and “rainbow people” — remained widespread and was particularly prominent in pro-government outlets.
Notably, in 2025 the term “LGBT” continued to replace “gay” as the default umbrella term — indicating a shift toward more generalised, and often ideological, framing.
Dangerous Normalisation
The 2025 results reinforce a clear pattern observed since 2020: as the political and media landscape in Belarus becomes more repressive, the use of hate speech in relation to LGBTQ+ people becomes increasingly normalised — even when the topic is superficially treated with “correct” terminology.
The data shows that:
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Every second article on LGBTQ+ topics in Belarusian media contains hate speech.
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In pro-government media, hate speech dominates both in volume and intensity.
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In independent media, hate speech is marginal and most content remains respectful.
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The line between “incorrect language” and outright hate is becoming increasingly blurred.
This signals an urgent need for both media literacy and targeted support to independent journalists and human rights defenders working on LGBTQ+ topics in the region.
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