Alt-right trolls are spreading the myth that gay people support paedophiles

The dangerous myth linking gay people with paedophilia is experiencing a resurgence, thanks to alt-right trolls.

The falsehood has a long and hateful history, but just in the past year or so, it has been repeated by a Labour Party councillor who branded Pride marchers “paedophiles,” Spanish ultra-conservatives and a Danish imam.

And last week, a sign with the message “Paedophiles are people too. Because Love Is Love” set against a rainbow background was posted around Willamette Primary School in Oregon.

It was part of a rising trend of trolls pretending to be queer activists who want to promote paedophilia as part of the LGBT community.

Alt-right supporters have been behind the resurgence of the dangerous myth (Chip Somodevilla/Getty)

Cameron Whitten, executive director of a local LGBT community group called the Q Centre, told KATU: “It’s just very clear that this message was meant to stigmatise and stereotype LGBTQ people.

“At a time when we are facing homophobia [and] transphobia, it is not helpful for these kinds of harmful messages to be disseminated out.”

The lie was spread further by alt-right figurehead and former Hollywood star James Woods, who tweeted: “And so it begins…” above a picture of the poster, as reported by BuzzFeed News.

And so it begins… pic.twitter.com/ku6FQpBbAO

— James Woods (@RealJamesWoods) July 31, 2018

Woods, who hit the headlines last year when he tweeted that a gender-creative child would end up killing his parents, attracted more than 36,000 retweets and likes with the post.

And it’s not the first time.