As a response to this incident, the below blog was written by Independent Women’s Law Center and Independent Women’s Forum’s marketing team, which placed the advertisement that put media bias in New Mexico on public display.

The Santa Fe Reporter describes itself as “the most trusted source for breaking news, culture, city guides, events, entertainment” and publishes weekly distributing 8,000 copies at a reported 250 locations.

Ahead of the one-year anniversary of New Mexico’s “Reproductive and Gender-Affirming Health Care Freedom Act” (HB 7, which promotes the irreversible medicalization of American children under the guise of gender-affirming care), Independent Women’s Forum (IWF) ran an advertisement in the Santa Fe Reporter to raise awareness surrounding the harmful effects of HB 7. 

The ad ran in the June 12, 2024 issue of the Santa Fe Reporter, Page 9
[Volume 51, Issue 24]

The ad featured Prisha Mosley, a young woman who engaged in “female to male transition” as a minor, leaving her with tragic and permanent harm to her physical body and emotional well-being. Prisha bravely shared her story in the hope others don’t experience what she did. The ad also included a QR code which linked to IWF’s Identity Crisis documentary series; true stories told by individuals who underwent transition and ultimately detransition and wish to inform others about their journeys.

Just days after the ad ran, the IWF marketing team received an email from the Santa Fe Reporter Advertising Director and Publisher indicating they would no longer accept future ads and will be issuing a public apology for the “transphobic misinformation.” 

The Publisher and Editor ran an apology in the June 19, 2024 issue of the Santa Fe Reporter, Page 5
[Volume 51, Issue 25]

Following the apology, in the next issue, Goldberg published a full-page story entitled a “Teachable Moment,” interviewing two individuals who report working “really hard to get [HB7] passed.” Golberg continues to misrepresent IWF’s work in the piece — labels IWF sharing people’s real experiences as “anti-trans rhetoric” and part of an “ongoing attack on transgender lives.” She asked one of the interviewees if ads like IWF’s have an impact (IWF is committed to equipping the public with information, sharing the real stories of detransitionsers that the media ignores), his response, “I think it does. Because people who might not know how to filter information may watch those ‘detransitioning’ videos and read that information and absorb it. And it moves their understanding.” 

IWF believes the authentic and very real stories of people like Prisha deserve to be shared and heard.

The Publisher and Editor published a full page article in the June 26, 2024 issue of the Santa Fe Reporter, Page 8
[Volume 51, Issue 26]

The Santa Fe Reporter’s outrageous claims about IWF not only are false, but injurious to IWF’s work and mission to educate. The Identity Crisis series, through real, first-hand stories from trans-identifying minors, seeks to educate by giving a voice to those who have personally experienced the painful, life-altering impact of gender transition. Nothing in the series is misinformation or anti-transgender; in fact, tremendous empathy and love is displayed throughout.

Independent Women’s Law Center (IWLC) promptly served the Santa Fe Reporter with a Cease-and-Desist letter, including a Demand to retract the false characterization of IWF and its work.

The letter reads in part:

The Santa Fe Reporter’s outrageous assertions are false. And they directly harm the work of IWF to educate. By labeling IWF’s basic educational resources—real stories from trans-identifying minors—anti-transgender and even violent, the Santa Fe Reporter destroys any opportunity for common ground and understanding.

 

We demand that you retract this false characterization of IWF and its work. More importantly, we encourage the paper to permit respectful dialogue on important topics. By labeling views well within the Overton window as seeking the “eradication” of people, those views become impermissible. By limiting this important conversation to the paper’s approved viewpoints, the media disserves those who most benefit from speech, truth, and understanding—vulnerable minors.

IWLC argues that HB 7 is harmful, based not only on scientific reality, but also the lived experiences and truth of those who have walked this path. The inflammatory remarks the Santa Fe Reporter made about IWF have essentially discredited each and every person who has courageously told their story. It is unconscionable for the media to silence the truth. By printing stories and ads that are in line with the paper’s approved viewpoints, and rejecting dissenting views and opinions, the Santa Fe Reporter limits this important conversation, and disserves those who most benefit from speech, truth and understanding – vulnerable minors.

IWLC vows to continue to push back against the Santa Fe Reporter until a retraction is made and remain a vehicle for individuals who have experienced the harms of the gender ideology movement.

We are with Prisha: “The truth is NOT transphobic.”