USA Today skewered for article claiming pedophilia is 'misunderstood.' Newspaper deletes tweets, changes headline after being accused of attempting to 'normalize pedophilia.'



USA Today was lambasted this week for publishing an article framing pedophilia as "misunderstood." Swift backlash caused the publication to delete tweets promoting the article, which was originally titled "What the public keeps getting wrong about pedophilia," before being edited to "The complicated research behind pedophilia."

"Pedophilia is viewed as among the most horrifying social ills. But scientists who study the sexual disorder say it is also among the most misunderstood," the article begins.

"When most of the public thinks of pedophilia, they assume it's synonymous with child sexual abuse, a pervasive social problem that has exploded to crisis levels online," USA Today national correspondent Alia E. Dastagir wrote. "Researchers who study pedophilia say the term describes an attraction, not an action, and using it interchangeably with 'abuse' fuels misperceptions."

The article cites psychologist Anna Salter, who argues, "There are the people who are sexually attracted to children ... (and then) there are some people who molest kids who are not pedophiles. They molest kids because of anger. They molest kids because they're scared of adult women. They molest kids to get revenge, but they don't actually have an age preference for prepubescent children."

The article quotes James Cantor – a clinical psychologist, sex researcher, and former editor-in-chief of Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment. In 2018, Cantor advocated for pedophilia to be labeled as a sexual preference and be included in the LGBTQ+ collective.

"Speaking as a gay men [sic], I believe we SHOULD include the P. To do otherwise is to betray the principles that give us our rights," Cantor wrote on Twitter.

Speaking as a gay men, I believe we SHOULD include the P. To do otherwise is to betray the principles that give us our rights.
— Dr. James Cantor (@Dr. James Cantor) 1544300474

The article also cites Allyn Walke, an assistant professor of sociology and criminal justice at Old Dominion University. Walker was placed on administrative leave on Nov. 16 after referring to pedophiles as "minor-attracted people" or "MAPs."

On the topic of "minor-attracted people," Walker claimed, "There is no morality or immorality attached to attraction to anyone because no one can control who they're attracted to at all. In other words, it's not who we're attracted to that's either OK or not OK. It's our behaviors and responding to that attraction that are either OK or not OK."

Walker's bio states the assistant professor is a "white, queer, nonbinary trans person" with pronouns of "they/them."

Walker – who will leave Old Dominion University in May because of the controversy – said in a resignation statement: "My scholarship aims to prevent child sexual abuse. That research was mischaracterized by some in the media and online, partly on the basis of my trans identity."

The article states, "Allyn Walker argued destigmatizing the attraction would allow more people to seek help and ultimately prevent child sexual abuse. There is growing support in the field for Walker's point of view."

USA Today shared the article on Twitter with the caption: "We think we know what a pedophile is. There’s a lot we’re misunderstanding.”

“When most of the public thinks of pedophilia, they assume it’s synonymous with child sexual abuse," the since-deleted tweet posted on the USA Today Life Twitter account. "A pedophile is an adult who is sexually attracted to children, but not all pedophiles abuse kids, and some people who sexually abuse kids are not pedophiles."

USA Today deleted the entire Twitter thread.

"A previous thread did not include all information and the story it was written about is behind a paywall," the newspaper said in a later tweet. "We made the decision to delete the thread. The initial thread lacked the context that was within the story and we made the decision the pull down the entire thread."

USA Today deleted this thread, in which the publication defended pedophilia.pic.twitter.com/ssfLjoDklt
— Ian Miles Cheong (@Ian Miles Cheong) 1641932283

The USA Today article was bashed by critics who claimed the newspaper was attempting to "normalize pedophilia."

NewsBusters managing editor Curtis Houck: "Ah, yes. Here we go with the liberal media celebrating and trying to normalize pedophilia. That's right, folks. @USAToday, trying to destigmatize...grown adults having sex with little kids."

Donald Trump Jr.: "USA TODAY TRIES TO 'UNDERSTAND' PEDOPHILES!!! To me (and probably anyone who has been watching) this is nothing more than the first step of trying to normalize this kind of behavior."

Former congressional candidate Barrington Martin II: "So you’re deciding to double down on being pedophile sympathizers?"

Second Amendment Foundation editor Lee Williams: "Hey, @USATODAY -- you can't normalize and destigmatize pedophilia in context. It's a nonstarter. You should pull down the entire story, not just the Twitter thread."

Political commentator Rita Panahi: "Hey @USATODAY you deleted this tweet & the creepy thread that amounted to pedo propaganda. But why did you post it in the first place?"

Radio host Dana Loesch: "After deleting their tweet defending child predation, @USATODAY changed the headline on their story."

After deleting their tweet defending child predation, @USATODAY changed the headline on their story:pic.twitter.com/ovczSBTtHO
— Dana Loesch (@Dana Loesch) 1641933988

'It's really sick and dark': The left says PEDOPHILIA is a sexual orientation, should be protected under LGBT laws



California's controversial Senate Bill 145, which would reduce penalties for sexual relations with minors, passed both legislative houses last week and now sits on the desk of Gov. Gavin Newsom (D).

According to State Sen. Scott Wiener, who authored the bill, the current law discriminates against the LGBT community.

"Senate Bill 145 is an anti-discrimination law," Wiener told KXTV-TV. He went on to explain that SB 145 would eliminate automatic sex offender registration for adults who have anal or oral sex with a minor. Instead, a judge would make the decision. Also, SB 145 would only apply in cases involving minors between ages 14 and 17 and with an offender within a 10-year age range.

In this episode of "Wilkow," BlazeTV host Andrew Wilkow was joined by journalist Chadwick Moore, a former liberal who once wrote that admitting he was a gay man to his father, "a Republican and a farmer in Iowa," was easier than "coming out as a conservative" in New York.

Wilkow and Moore discussed the far left's push to normalize pedophilia and include sex offenders under the legal protections of the LGBT community.

"It's really sick and dark," Moore said. "These things are coming out in the activist circles and entering the mainstream narrative. [...] You know, this is how the left always operates, with what's called the Overton window. They will put a really insane idea out there just to shift the frame of acceptable public discourse."

"They are masters at using language to change the narrative and change how people view the world," Moore went on to explain. He noted that pedophiles are now calling themselves "Minor Attracted Persons" or "MAPs" and arguing that pedophilia is merely a "sexual orientation" in an attempt to gain acceptance into the LGBT community.

"It's truly baffling and sick and no one will call them out," Moore said.

Watch the video below to catch more of the conversation:


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'Horrible things are happening right before our eyes': The left is NORMALIZING pedophilia, child sex trafficking



It took the Netflix 'Cuties' controversy to awaken us to a very serious issue. Buried underneath the left's favorite tag lines "love is love" and "asylum is a human right," a much more sinister movement is growing: the normalization of pedophilia.

In this episode of "Wilkow," host Andrew Wilkow argued that the truth has been branded as a "crazy conspiracy theory" because it exposes the people who control the dominant narrative.

Wilkow highlighted a New York Times article, titled "Pedophilia: A Disorder, Not a Crime," in which contributor Margo Kaplan argued that laws in this country are failing people who are living with pedophilia, a mental disorder defined as "an intense and recurrent sexual interest in prepubescent children," and that these failures stem largely from two main misconceptions:

"Pedophilia is a status and not an act. In fact, research shows, about half of all child molesters are not sexually attracted to their victims," Kaplan wrote. "A second misconception is that pedophilia is a choice. Recent research, while often limited to sex offenders — because of the stigma of pedophilia — suggests that the disorder may have neurological origins. Pedophilia could result from a failure in the brain to identify which environmental stimuli should provoke a sexual response."

As Wilkow pointed out, Kaplan went on to argue that pedophiles should be protected under the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990 and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, but that Congress had "explicitly excluded pedophilia" from such legal protections.

Wilkow also reviewed an article from The Daily Caller, "Pedophiles Believe They Should Be A Part Of The LGBT Community."

"Pedophiles are rebranding themselves as 'MAPs' or 'Minor Attracted Persons' in an effort to gain acceptance and be included into the LGBT community," he read. "According to Urban Dictionary, the blanket term MAP includes infantophiles (infants), pedophiles (pre-pubescent children), hebephiles (pubescent children), and ephebophiles (post-pubescent children). [...] These pedophiles seek to be a part of the LGBT+ community, even going so far as to make a "Pride" flag for Gay Pride Month."

Wilkow also discussed how leftist politicians and the mainstream media have tried to tie President Donald Trump to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, while protecting big name Democrats like former President Bill Clinton and former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson.

"Ever since Epstein's death, the truth about the left's ties to child sex trafficking have started to unravel, and now it all makes sense. Why does Hollywood support the Democrats? Why do these sick, ultra-wealthy people donate to the Democrats? Why won't the Democrat-controlled mainstream media even really report on sex trafficking?" he asked.

"Of course, this has been branded as a conspiracy theory. But the people it exposes are the very people that seek to control the dominant narrative. And now that we have the facts, we can no longer sweep it under the rug as we've done for so many years," he added. "It's not about politics. It's about certain bad individuals having so much power that horrible things are happening right before our eyes."

Watch the video below for more details:


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To enjoy more of Andrew's dynamic truth-telling, unmistakable opinion and rational political analysis, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution and live the American dream.