(Photo Courtesy of NBC News) “Boston Children’s Hospital has been in service since 1869”
Jordan Harrington
Connector Editor
On Thursday, September 15th, two weeks after a false bomb threat was called into the Boston Children’s Hospital, the Westfield woman Catherine Leavy was interviewed and arrested by FBI agents.
“There is a bomb on the way to the hospital, you better evacuate everybody, you sickos.” Leavy had said over a phone call to the Boston Children’s Hospital the night of August 30th two weeks prior. The hospital was promptly evacuated and investigated by a Boston Police Department bomb squad before the all-clear was given.
This false threat came following multiple weeks of harassment directed towards the Boston Children’s Hospital after the spread of misinformation relating to their gender-affirming care. “There have been several threats made against these kinds of facilities, not just the Boston Children’s Hospital, at other hospitals across the country for the last several weeks,” says James Forest of the School of Criminology and Justice Studies at UMass Lowell.
Another more recent example would be the Akron Children’s Hospital in Akron, Ohio which also has gender-affirming care of its own. Similar to the Boston Children’s Hospital they have been under attack from online harassment and misinformation.
These attacks, “Largely fueled by misinformation and disinformation, are mischaracterization of certain kinds of medical procedures offered at these hospitals,” says Forest.
Social media has provided platforms for misinformation and disinformation to be spread online to wide audiences across the United States. “Certainly a huge nationwide public education campaign about online literacy would help,” Forest says. “Some of the disinformation is being put out there on social media specifically to provoke this kind of activity.” This activity also does not come without consequences as Leavy, if convicted, faces upwards of 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine.
“It’s very similar to the kind of disinformation that fueled the attack on the Capitol on January 6th, they are trying to provoke individuals to lash out and get as angry as possible.” says Forest.
On Sunday, September 18th the Boston Children’s Hospital was also witness to a protest of less than a dozen anti-trans individuals. However, there was a much larger group of counter-protesters coming out in support of both the Boston Children’s Hospital and trans youth. Police were on the scene ensuring the safety of all parties including patients, families and hospital staff who were coming in and out of the hospital that day.
Additionally, in recent years the sources of misinformation and disinformation have not always been from the same place. “It’s not just being fueled by sources here in the U.S. there’s also a lot of it being fueled by other countries that want us to be fighting against each other.” Recent U.S. tensions and division have been at all-time highs while global events like the war between Ukraine and Russia occur.
Social media platforms have continued to be an avenue for people to be affected by the spread of misinformation and disinformation. However, there are ways to mitigate the effects. “Some of the best characteristics of success we have had in this country, or other countries, have been when a friend seeks out professional help.” Forest says. Radicalization can happen to the people around us much more easily than people often assume.
On the issue of facing these hateful groups of people, Forest says, “There have always been hateful groups of some character in America…It’s a long standing of our history and that’s unfortunately a part of our baggage as a country.” However, Forest says that resilience is of the upmost importance because that in it of itself is a deterrent. These hateful groups, not just anti-trans, but more across the U.S. want a reaction, fear and the way of life being changed and unjustly uprooted.
