Missouri Republican's antigay slur-filled posts remain on Instagram despite violating Meta’s policies

Valentina Gomez, a Republican candidate for Missouri secretary of state, has once again ignited outrage with two slur-filled social media posts that remain on Meta’s Instagram platform despite clear violations of the company’s terms of service.

In videos posted on Thursday and Friday, Gomez used an antigay slur and made disparaging remarks about transgender athletes and LGBTQ+ individuals, yet the posts have remained live for more than 24 hours despite being reported multiple times.

In her Thursday video, Gomez said, “These f****ts should get their own f****t category because before, 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 went on to make a transphobic comment.

Gomez’s initial video came after Algerian boxer Imane Khelif faced transphobic abuse online after her Italian opponent withdrew from their bout at the Paris Olympics, with right-wing influencers falsely accusing Khelif of being male. Khelif isn't trans.

On Friday, Gomez posted another video boasting about the attention her previous bigoted 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, and I cannot wait to go to beautiful, sunny California and catch some pedophiles.”

On Saturday, she posted yet another bigoted video, which remains up on Instagram. Gomez stated: “I have stood up to pedophiles, groomers, and corrupt politicians, but this hasn’t come without a price." She made conspiratorial remarks about her family being targeted. "But I’m still standing because I have God and the American people by my side. I don’t ask for money. I’d rather you go buy food and bullets for your family. I simply ask you to come out and vote for me on August 6th. So fuck these gay pedophiles in our government. Let’s save America,” she said.

In June, Gomez called WNBA star and former Russian captive Brittney Griner an “unpatriotic lesbian” who should be in a Russian prison and not playing for the United States at the Olympics.

A spokesperson for GLAAD criticized Meta’s inaction in a statement to The Advocate.

“Over and over, Meta is failing to protect its LGBTQ users from extreme hate speech,” the spokesperson said. “Allowing multiple posts using this horrible slur is just the latest example of how hate-peddling accounts are emboldened to post more and more egregious attacks on LGBTQ people.”

The spokesperson pointed to GLAAD’s report last March, Unsafe: Meta Fails to Moderate Extreme Anti-trans Hate Across Facebook, Instagram, and Threads, which documented many examples of extreme anti-trans hate content posted by popular hate accounts that Meta failed to moderate.

“These posts are disgusting attacks from a political candidate enlisting blatant and vicious fear-mongering, including implied incitement to anti-LGBTQ violence, to gain the attention of voters. Meta should swiftly attend to such egregious violations of its own hate speech policy — from a public figure whose account is rife with similar anti-LGBTQ and anti-trans posts and other violent rhetoric,” the spokesperson said.

Despite reports to Meta for violating the platform’s terms of service, which prohibit hate speech and incitement to violence, the posts have not been removed. The posts on X, formerly Twitter, remain up but contain a flag: “Visibility limited: this Post may violate X’s rules against Hateful Conduct.”

Dozens of users on Instagram commented that they had reported the post and received a message that it was taken down, only to discover it back on the platform.

Meta’s Community Guidelines and Hate Speech policy 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. We also prohibit the use of harmful stereotypes, which we define as dehumanizing comparisons that have historically been used to attack, intimidate, or exclude specific groups, and that are often linked with offline violence. We also prohibit the usage of slurs that are used to attack people on the basis of their protected characteristics.”

Screenshots reviewed by The Advocate show that Instagram found no policy violation for Gomez’s Friday video, which included an antigay slur.

Meta’s failure to promptly remove Gomez’s posts has sparked a renewed debate over the responsibility of social media platforms to regulate content and enforce their own community standards. Critics argue that allowing such content to remain online fosters a culture of hate and endangers vulnerable communities.

Neither Meta’s spokespeople nor the head of Instagram and Threads, Adam Mosseri, responded to The Advocate’s multiple requests for comment on why the posts remain on their platform. However, after initial publication, Meta added a flag to two of Gomez’s Instagram posts. “This post goes against our Community Guidelines but has been left on Instagram for public awareness,” the platform wrote without explaining how hate speech adds to public discourse on the platform.

Gomez did respond to The Advocate’s request for comment, in which she repeatedly used antigay slurs. “Stop shoving this gay shit down our throats,” she wrote. “We are done tolerating your disgusting ideology and if you’re offended, you’re probably a f****t.”

She added, “The LGBTQ cannot reproduce, that’s why they are coming for our children. These f*****s have infiltrated our sports, schools, spaces and we are fighting back. These men that dress up as women and call themselves ‘drag queens’ are glorified pedophiles… Stop being weak, I fear nobody.”

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. According to GLAAD’s Accountability Project, Gomez has a history of using incendiary language and actions to gain attention.

The Accountability Project catalogs anti-LGBTQ rhetoric and discriminatory actions of politicians, commentators, organization heads, religious leaders, and legal figures who have used their platforms, influence, and power to spread misinformation and harm LGBTQ people.

In February, 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.”

Gomez also told voters via a video post on social media in May, “In America, you can be anything you want, so don’t be weak and gay. Stay fucking hard.” The video then cuts to a photo of Gomez holding a handgun and an assault rifle. In the video, Gomez is jogging, wearing a military-style vest. She has not served in the U.S. military.

Gomez has previously posted that the Biden administration is “weak and gay.” In a follow-up campaign video, also jogging, she complained that her planned run was ruined by “weak and gay people that always find a way to mess things up, so fuck you, and watch me become Missouri’s 41st Secretary of State.” She has said she plans to receive an endorsement from former President Donald Trump.

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. Her platform includes “protecting children against the transgender agenda,” “securing the Second Amendment,” and opposing vaccine mandates.

Last month, Gomez attacked state Rep. Barbara Phifer, one of the Democrats running for the same office, by accusing her of raising a “groomer” and suggesting she belongs in a nursing home. Phifer, who has a transgender grandchild, responded by emphasizing the importance of protecting all children from hate and bigotry.

Editor’s note: This story was updated to include a flag added to Gomez’s Instagram posts by Meta after this article was initially published.