Facts Matter: No data to suggest teen suicide connected to transgender athletes

Presidential candidate and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, during a CNN town hall earlier this month, suggested a rise in the number of suicides by teen girls is related to transgender students participating in sports.

"How are we supposed to get our girls used to the fact that biological boys are in their locker rooms?" Haley said during the June 4 forum. "And then we wonder why a third of our teenage girls seriously contemplated suicide last year."

But there's no evidence to support that connection, according to The Washington Post. In fact, a higher number of LGBTQ+ girls than cisgender girls have contemplated suicide.

Data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in February summarized its 2021 Youth Risk Behavior Survey, which showed that from 2019 to 2021 there was an increase in the number of girls who have seriously considered suicide. The number of boys contemplating suicide remained steady over that time period.

Regarding teen girls, those who said they seriously considered suicide rose from 24.1% in 2019 to 30% in 2021. Of those, for teen girls identifying as heterosexual, 20% had contemplated suicide, while it was 41% for lesbian students, 52% for bisexual students, 36% for "questioning" teens and 48% for those identifying as "other."

"Suicidal feelings and attempts are more than three times higher among the sex and gender minority youth in the CDC report," University of New Hampshire professor David Finkelhor told the Post. "That could be attributed to the stigma, bullying, social marginality that could be exacerbated by the political hostility around the issues."

An analysis done by the Post shows few transgender students play sports. Data taken from CDC surveys of six states and six urban districts suggests only about 1% of student-athletes are transgender.

Cows didn't die from COVID vaccine

A video circulating on social media shows a group of cows that are sick or dead and claims the animals were killed by the COVID-19 vaccine.

"WARNING Graphic Footage Northern Italy. Government came and vaccinated cattle against cv19 Look at the result all dead or dying the next day," read one tweet that shared the video.

But that claim is false, according to The Associated Press. Those cows weren't given the coronavirus vaccine.

Stefano Giantin, an Italian veterinarian who works for the country's national veterinary service, investigated the incident. He told the AP the video was taken in 2022 at a farm in Sommariva del Bosco, Cuneo, where nearly 50 cows died when they were poisoned by eating a sorghum plant.

Sorghum, Giantin said, is normally not poisonous. However, drought at that time had caused "very strong concentrations" of prussic acid, or cyanide, to develop in the plant, and it became lethal to the cows. Some 40 cows at that farm were saved by an antidote, Giantin said.

BLM not bankrupt

A tweet last month on social media claims the Black Lives Matter organization is out of money.

"BLM Is Officially BANKRUPT. Bye Bye!" read the post.

But that's not quite right, according to USA Today. Although the group lost money last year, there is no evidence it is out of funds. Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation Inc., in a recent tax filing, showed the organization has $30 million in assets.

That's down from the $42 million reported in the previous period. In the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2022, BLM raised just over $9 million. During the social justice protests in 2020, the group raised more than $90 million.

Shalomyah Bowers, a member of the Black Lives Matter board of directors, told USA Today the group's finances are "strong and stable." "The organization is not in any danger of going bankrupt," he said.

Google's doodle honored fallen vets

The Google website has a history of stylizing its logo, referred to as a doodle, for holidays and to commemorate special days or events.

Some social media users pointed out what appeared to be no change to the logo for Memorial Day.

A May 29 tweet displayed four Google doodles, suggesting there wasn't a special one for Memorial Day. The text read, "Google During Ukraine Independence Day," "Google During Cinco de Maya," "Google During Gay Pride Month" and "Google During Memorial Day."

The logos shown included one with a Ukrainian flag, one that displayed a sombrero, one decorated in rainbow colors and the standard Google logo.

But that's inaccurate, according to Reuters. Google made a change to its logo, although it was subtle. The logo was changed from its usual colorful look to a soft gray, and an American flag was added under the search bar.

Google spokesperson Colette Garcia told Reuters the change was a "solemn tribute" to military members who were killed in action.

"(Google has) done the grayed out logo for Memorial Day tribute for several years," she said.

• Bob Oswald is a veteran Chicago-area journalist and former news editor of the Elgin Courier-News. Contact him at boboswald33@gmail.com.