In a bombshell leak from @PinkNewsStaff on X, Pink News' CEO Benjamin Cohen has been recorded signalling his intent to abandon the trans community to instead focus on being an “entertainment powerhouse”.

In the leaked recording Benjamin is captured stating "We have to be careful." "It's the role of others to change narratives", going on to further say that covering transgender issues will cause them to lose advertisers.

This revelation comes two weeks after pinknews removed their trans category from the website.

@PinkNewsStaff joined X in May 2024 and has been releasing several other allegations about the outlet, claiming there is a toxic culture of bullying, harassment and discrimination at PinkNews.

Leaked audio in the linked article.

    • ashinadash [she/her]
      ·
      24 days ago

      Sometimes the Onion misses, but when they hit, they fuckin hit.

  • beef_curds [she/her]
    ·
    24 days ago

    He called covering trans issues "charity". What a piece of shit. A-gay drop-the-t behavior.

    • queermunist she/her@lemmy.ml
      ·
      24 days ago

      It's self sabotage too - once you start splintering off pieces of the movement for liberation it's only a matter of time until you're the only one left and they come for you next.

      • AcidSmiley [she/her]
        hexagon
        ·
        24 days ago

        This goes doubly because trans communities can be fairly well organized. I often see a very strong trans presence in queer spaces simply because we need to make up lack in numbers with determination and because we feel a stronger pressure to defend ourselves.

    • AcidSmiley [she/her]
      hexagon
      ·
      24 days ago

      This is what pinkwashed capitalism gets us. I wonder if he's aware that the same advertisers will drop cis gay gossip outlets playing into respectability politics as well once transphobia has been used as a door opener to roll back the incredibly recent, still incomplete denormalization of homophobia, or if he's just the average corporate ghoul who can't think past the next three month's KPIs.

  • WhatDoYouMeanPodcast [comrade/them]
    ·
    edit-2
    24 days ago

    Besides being spineless and pathetic, if I've learned anything about the Internet it's that the machine literally runs on outrage. If you are a lightning rod for outrage, you're a lightning rod for money. Think about the payout Imane Khelif is about to get from terf woman and divorced science dad. People cannot get enough being mad. You have the perfect machine for it in the Internet. People need to take breaks from making millions on the Internet because they get so fucking mad so fucking often they need to go touch grass. People spend billions and billions trying to get people to look at them while they're getting mad. And you're telling me you're getting hits on "contentious content" and you're upset about it? It jeopardizes ad revenue? GET NEW AD REVENUE! IT'S THERE! BLUE CHEW TOOK OUT ADS ON THE CUM TOWN PODCAST AND YOU'RE TELLING ME YOU CANT GET A RAID SHADOW LEGENDS TO SPONSOR PINK NEWS? GET AN INTERN TO SEND AI GENERATED LETTERS TO POTENTIAL SPONSORS. YOU HAVE A HOT COMMODITY AND YOU'RE THROWING IT IN THE GARBAGE.

    All you'd need to do is open a comments section under your articles and give an ally mod powers (give them $200/mo and never look at it again to avoid every headache) and you'd get infinity traffic to your website - enjoy your yacht.

    • TheDoctor [they/them]
      ·
      24 days ago

      BLUE CHEW TOOK OUT ADS ON THE CUM TOWN PODCAST AND YOU'RE TELLING ME YOU CANT GET A RAID SHADOW LEGENDS TO SPONSOR PINK NEWS?

      Tagline maybe

  • SexUnderSocialism [she/her]
    ·
    edit-2
    24 days ago

    Color me surprised that a liberal cis gay man is being the weakest link in the chain when it comes to giving a shit about our rights.

  • roux [he/him, comrade/them]
    ·
    24 days ago
    1. What the fuck is wrong with some people?

    2. Is there a good site for queer news that isn't ran by terfs?

    • Llituro [he/him, they/them]
      ·
      24 days ago

      https://www.erininthemorning.com/ seems good from what i can tell. she focuses particularly on trans legislation.

      • AcidSmiley [she/her]
        hexagon
        ·
        24 days ago

        Erin is usually the most thorough source for the US, i hope somebody can name a comparable British outlet as well given that it's on the forefront of fighting against trans rights in the imperial core and has some of the most openly transphobic journalists even outside of conservative sites.

        • Llituro [he/him, they/them]
          ·
          24 days ago

          it is very lib. but given the amount of active hate legislation coming out of state bodies across the country, her thoroughness is welcome. necessary but not sufficient.

        • iridaniotter [she/her]
          ·
          24 days ago

          I mean she's only one person, and it's something that needs to be covered.

    • Anxious_Anarchist [they/them, any]
      ·
      edit-2
      24 days ago

      There's Xtra, it's Canada based but it covers some American stuff too, and it doesn't shy away from trans issues.

      • roux [he/him, comrade/them]
        ·
        24 days ago

        Cool will use this going forward. I didn't browse pinknews that much but I'd just rather avoid products ran by bigots where I can.

  • UlyssesT [he/him]
    ·
    24 days ago

    That's what you get for making things political, sweetie.

    maybe-later-honey 🍷🍷 maybe-later-kiddo

  • LGOrcStreetSamurai [he/him]
    ·
    edit-2
    24 days ago

    How are you gonna be a news site and not cover news? It's in the name. Trans news is news, and if anything trans news is highly related to other news. Often other news is news-ing because of Trans news.

  • kristina [she/her]
    ·
    edit-2
    24 days ago

    cis white gay men once again being the worst fuckin allies

    • gueybana [any]
      ·
      24 days ago

      7 times out of ten they are the most pathetic nazis.

  • miz [any, any]
    ·
    edit-2
    24 days ago

    they still teach Niemöller's poem I assume, but it sure seems like liberals don't understand it

    EVERYBODY IN, NOBODY OUT.

  • ashinadash [she/her]
    ·
    24 days ago

    covering transgender issues will cause them to lose advertisers.

    Capitalist booklicker shit