NBC News fact-checked for headline on ‘coming for your children’ chant at LGBT pride march
An NBC News story describing a chant by LGBT activists about “coming for your children” as “lighthearted” was fact-checked on Twitter after readers challenged the accuracy of the network's article.
The headline for the June 27 article from NBC Out, the LGBT-focused brand of NBC News, read: “We’re Coming For Your Children’ chant at NYC Drag March elicits outrage, but activists say it’s taken out of context," with a sub-headline reading, “Organizers say the NYC Drag March is meant to be lighthearted and to poke fun at anti-[LGBT] sentiment.”
NBC’s story claims that the chant originated with “an unidentified person” at a pride event in New York City.
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" ... One voice that is louder than the crowd — it’s not clear whose, or whether the speaker was a member of the [LGBT] community — is heard saying at least twice, 'We’re here, we’re queer, we’re coming for your children,'" the article stated.
The story also claimed video footage of the chant was “circulated by a right-wing web streamer channel,” which the outlet did not identify.
According to NBC, the chant “has been used for years” and is “one of many provocative expressions used to regain control of slurs” against LGBT people.
While the chant is similar to a 2021 video by the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus in which the group sings such phrases as, “we’ll convert your children” and “we’re coming for your children,” there’s no evidence it has been used at past pride events.
Brian Griffin, credited with starting the original pride event in New York City, told NBC that chanting “we’re coming for your children” is part and parcel of the “obscene things” heard being chanted at past pride events, including, apparently, marchers who “regularly sing ‘God is a lesbian.’”
“It’s all just words,” Griffin was quoted as saying. “It’s all presented to fulfill their worst stereotypes of us.”
Aside from Griffin, the NBC story did not identify any of the activists and others who the outlet reportedly contacted, using only their drag names such as “Fussy Lo Mein” and “Hucklefaery Ken,” whom NBC said declined to be interviewed over fears for their safety “in light of the backlash over the video clip.”
The article also makes a number of assertions about the chant’s history and other information attributed anonymously to “longtime march attendees and gay rights activists.”
After sharing the link on Twitter Tuesday, a Community Notes section was added to the post, which stated the NBC story “provides no evidence of the ... chant being done for years at pride nor does it quote specific individuals that make this claim” and calls the article “very irresponsible reporting."
In addition to the Twitter fact-check, the verified account Gays Against Groomers tweeted that the chant “has never been used at Pride events."
The Christian Post reached out to NBC News for comment Wednesday but did not receive a response by press time on Thursday. This story will be updated in the event a response is received.
A Fox News report on the pride march said members of the “anti-Christian” drag troupe Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence (SPI) — which it described as a “a satirical performance and activist organization” — were also on hand for the march.
Earlier this month, Major League Baseball and the Los Angeles Dodgers honored SPI, which is known for its annual Easter events, which mock the crucifixion of Christ, at the Dodgers' annual pride event after initially removing them from the event in response to backlash from conservative and Catholic groups.
Ian M. Giatti is a reporter for The Christian Post and the author of BACKWARDS DAD: a children's book for grownups. He can be reached at: [email protected].
