In recent months, major companies have publicly announced that they are abandoning their diversity efforts. In at least two cases, companies were pressured into taking action by right-wing extremist and conspiracy theorist Robby Starbuck. He has succeeded in influencing corporate behavior through his social media account despite embracing racist conspiracy theories, anti-LGBTQ bigotry, and other fringe views. Following his recent successes, Starbuck has promised that he is just getting started.
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Earlier this year, Starbuck released a documentary called The War on Children. The documentary, which he created with his wife Landon Starbuck, centers around the idea that the LGBTQ movement is a sophisticated effort by the government, social media companies, and the medical community to corrupt and sexualize children.
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In the documentary, which has 2 million views on X, Starbuck suggests that toxic chemicals are causing children to identify as LGBTQ. Starbuck claimed a study found that exposure to the pesticide atrazine in frogs purportedly turned them “gay” and caused them to mate with other male frogs. (An EPA review of the scientific literature found that this claim about the impact of atrazine on amphibians was false.) Starbuck says that no one wants to investigate the impact of atrazine and other chemicals on children. The theory was popularized by the notorious right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, who claimed tap water was a “gay bomb.” Jones asserted that the federal government was engaged in a “chemical warfare operation” designed to increase the LGBTQ population and lower birth rates. The idea that chemicals are impacting the sexuality of children, according to experts, is completely baseless.
