Image by Breitbart

On March 29, President Biden issued a “Proclamation on Transgender Day of Visibility,” which has fallen on March 31 every year since 2009 and Biden has recognized since 2021. 

However, conservative news outlets and commentators tended to put a negative spin on the news, with some news outlets making it appear that Biden had specifically selected Easter for Trans Day of Visibility, rather than just following the established date of March 31, which happened to coincide with Easter this year. On March 31, the White House also issued a statement wishing Christians a Happy Easter.

Many headlines from media outlets on the right omitted that Biden has been making this proclamation every year on March 31 since he took presidential office, running headlines such as “Biden proclaims Easter Sunday as Transgender Day of Visibility, sparking outrage online” (Washington Examiner, Lean Right).

While the right displayed sensationalism, opinion stated as fact, story choice bias, and bias by omission, the left used sensationalism when covering the reaction from the right. 

Coverage on the Right

Outlets on the right covered Biden’s proclamation of Transgender Day of Visibility with headlines that omitted that March 31 is always Transgender Day of Visibility, employing slant to play up the narrative that Biden had decided the day would fall on Easter Sunday or that he was trying to replace Easter with Transgender Day of Visibility:

All of the articles above, with the exception of Hot Air, did mention at the top of the article that Trans Day of Visibility was on March 31, and happened to fall on Easter this year.

Several outlets on the right also highlighted Biden’s response to being asked if he had named Easter the Transgender Day of Visibility, to which Biden replied: “I didn't do that.” 

The Post Millennial (Right bias), Breitbart (Right bias), and Fox News (Right bias) all framed Biden’s response as false. The Post Millennial headline was “NEW: Joe Biden DENIES proclaiming Easter Sunday trans visibility day: 'I didn’t do that' — (he did).” By using the word “DENIES” in all capital letters, The Post Millennial sensationalizes; including “(he did)” is stating an one interpretation as fact, because while Biden did proclaim March 31 as Trans Visibility Day, it does not always fall on the same day as Easter Sunday. So, to say that Biden proclaimed “Easter Sunday” as Trans Visibility day is somewhat debatable, and at the very least, missing some important context. The PM also displayed bias by viewpoint placement by not mentioning that Trans Visibility Day had always occurred on March 31 in the past until halfway through the article, when it mentioned Biden’s 2022 proclamation. 

Breitbart’s headline read: “Biden Bizarrely Denies Declaring Easter Sunday ‘Transgender Day of Visibility.’” The word “bizarrely” is a subjective qualifier that implies that Biden’s statement is false. Later in the article it says, “Biden’s denial is blatantly false,” which displays the same aforementioned bias as The Post Millennial. In Breitbart’s article, there is no mention that Transgender Day of Visibility has been recognized by Biden on March 31 for four years, demonstrating bias by omission.

Fox News’ headline said, “Biden says he 'didn't do that' when asked about Easter being 'Trans Visibility Day,' despite proclamation.” The addition of “despite proclamation” frames Biden’s comment as hypocritical or untruthful. Later in the article, Fox states, “In a statement to Fox News Digital, a spokesperson for the White House downplayed the president's comments, noting that he didn't choose March 31 as the date for Transgender Day of Visibility.” The use of “downplayed” is a spin word, as others may see the spokesperson as simply making an accurate statement about the president’s comments.

Another Fox News article, displayed sensationalism with the headline (emphasis ours), “Biden slammed on social media after announcing Transgender Day of Visibility on Easter Sunday.” Another Fox News article read, “DeSantis blasts Biden for denying trans visibility declaration on Easter: 'Who's running the presidency?'” “Blast” and “slammed” are common words indicative of sensationalism and spin. 

A Daily Mail (Right bias) headline read: “Trump slams Biden's 'blasphemous' move to celebrate Transgender Day of Visibility on Easter Sunday, with ban on decorating eggs with religious imagery stoking further fury.” “Slams” and “fury” are sensational terms.

A New York Post (Lean Right) article also used the sensationalist language “slammed”: “Biden slammed over proclamation that Easter Sunday is ‘Transgender Day of Visibility’ as Trump calls for president to ‘issue an apology.’”

Another instance of “slammed,” from the Daily Wire (Right bias) this time: “Rachel Levine Mocks Critics Who Slammed Biden For Celebrating ‘Transgender Day Of Visibility’ On Easter.” In another article, the Daily Wire used “Blasted.”

The right also focused on Speaker Johnson’s response to Biden’s proclamation, demonstrating story choice bias by highlighting or emphasizing comments from Republicans or of particular interest to conservative readers. 

Coverage on the Left

Outlets on the left were not immune to using sensationalist language as well. CNN’s (Lean Left) headline “Republicans slam…”, ABC News’ (Lean Left) headline “White House Bashes…”, USA Today’s (Lean Left) headline “White House rips 'hateful, dishonest' GOP outcry”, and The New York Times’ (Lean Left) headline “G.O.P. slams Biden…” all used sensational vocabulary.

While the left used sensational language, they were also more likely to include the nuance that Trans Day of Visibility fell on Easter, as opposed to Biden declaring it to be on Easter. The CNN, USA Today, and New York Times headlines linked above all included the language that Trans Day of VIsibility fell on Easter. Two less biased headlines that include the nuance without sensationalism come from Al Jazeera (Lean Left) and Politico (Lean Left):

Conclusion

Bias by omission and viewpoint placement on the right fueled confusion across social media, as many people did not realize that Transgender Day of Visibility is always celebrated on March 31. While the left was not wholly objective in covering the story either, as seen in the use of sensationalism and emotional language, they more often captured the nuance that Trans Day of Visibility was a recurring holiday. Reading coverage across political biases can ensure that you get the full picture. 

Clare Ashcraft (Center Bias) is the Bridging & Bias Specialist at AllSides. 
This piece was reviewed by Julie Mastrine, AllSides Director of Marketing and Media Bias Ratings (Lean Right), and Joseph Ratliff, AllSides Content Designer and News Editor (Lean Left bias).

Media Bias Alert, Bias By Omission, Transgender Issues, Easter, Donald Trump, Joe Biden