Valentina Gomez, a Republican candidate for Missouri secretary of state, has once again drawn ire with her incendiary social media posts, which remain on Meta’s Instagram platform despite clear violations of the company’s terms of service.
In videos posted last week, Gomez used antigay slurs and made disparaging remarks about transgender athletes and LGBTQ+ individuals. The posts have remained live for over 24 hours despite being reported numerous times. In one video, Gomez stated, “These f****ts should get their own f****t category because if a man hit a woman, it used to land them in jail. Now, it gets you a gold medal at the Olympics. These are the worst Olympics in history. They have made a mockery out of Christianity and women.” She continued with further transphobic comments.
Gomez’s initial video followed an incident where Algerian boxer Imane Khelif faced transphobic abuse online after her Italian opponent withdrew from their bout at the Paris Olympics. Right-wing influencers falsely accused Khelif of being male, despite her being cisgender.
In another video, Gomez boasted about the attention her previous video had garnered. She said, “I’m on Billboard not because of my viral rap hit with Hi-Rez, but because I pissed off a bunch of f****ts and pedophiles in Hollywood. So here’s something you will never be, despite all of that makeup and surgeries you do to yourself, a beautiful woman like me. I cannot wait to go to beautiful, sunny California and catch some pedophiles.”
Meta’s Inaction and Public Response
Meta’s failure to remove these posts has sparked a renewed debate over the responsibility of social media platforms to regulate content and enforce community standards. Critics argue that allowing such content to remain online fosters a culture of hate and endangers vulnerable communities. A spokesperson for GLAAD criticized Meta’s inaction, stating, “Over and over, Meta is failing to protect its LGBTQ users from extreme hate speech. Allowing multiple posts using this horrible slur is just the latest example of how hate-peddling accounts are emboldened to post more egregious attacks on LGBTQ people.”
Meta’s Community Guidelines state, “It’s never OK to attack anyone based on their gender identity or sexual orientation… We remove content that contains hate speech… We define a hate speech attack as dehumanizing speech; statements of inferiority, expressions of contempt or disgust; cursing; and calls for exclusion or segregation.” Despite these guidelines, Gomez’s posts have not been removed.
Gomez, a 25-year-old real estate investor from Colombia, has gained notoriety throughout her campaign for her aggressive and inflammatory rhetoric. This latest incident adds to a series of controversies surrounding her candidacy. Earlier this year, Gomez posted a video of herself burning LGBTQ-themed books with a flamethrower, declaring, “This is what I will do to the grooming books when I become secretary of state. These books come from a Missouri public library. When I’m in office, they will burn.”
Despite the crowded field of candidates for the Republican nomination for secretary of state, none have publicly condemned her extreme rhetoric. Eight Republicans, including Gomez, are running for the position. The primary elections in Missouri are set for Tuesday, and Gomez’s controversial tactics have intensified scrutiny on her campaign.
Gomez’s platform includes “protecting children against the transgender agenda,” “securing the Second Amendment,” and opposing vaccine mandates. Her inflammatory rhetoric and actions have drawn criticism from LGBTQ+ advocacy groups and raised concerns about the influence of hate speech in political campaigns. As the primary elections approach, the impact of Gomez’s controversial tactics on her candidacy remains to be seen.
