Morocco Instagram Influencer Apologises For Outing Gay Men

Late last month an Instagram influencer encouraged her followers to download dating apps to locate and out gay men in Morocco, a country where homosexuality is illegal.

Many Moroccan men were tricked by potential dates into sharing intimate photos which were then posted online leading to some being bullied, blackmailed and thrown out of their homes during the coronavirus lockdowns.

Naoufal Moussa - known online as Sofia Taloni- has now stated that she regretted that her advice was used to “target men instead of bringing them closer to the mainstream society.”

“My intention was to ‘humanize’, ‘un-demonize’ and ‘normalize’ gay people in Morocco so we stop thinking of them as outcasts,” Moussa told the ‘Thomson Reuters Foundation’.

“I literally wanted people to think of gay people as the man or woman next door and to stop the negative fantasy about who gay people are, how they look like and how they live.”

Following Moussa's outing campaign, Human Rights Watch (HRW) called on the Moroccan government to repeal the section of its constitution that punishes same-sex relations.

“The real problem with such homophobic campaigns, regardless of how they were instigated, is that Morocco’s anti-LGBT law encourages them, if not incubates them,” HRW spokesman Ahmed Benchemsi stated.

Reactions to Moussa’s apology were mixed

One Moroccan gay man, who did not wish to be identified, said it was “a sign of maturity”.

“If she apologized then it is an admission of the suffering of minorities due to her actions,” he said.

Read related myGwork articles here:

Gay Men “Outed” In Morocco After Photos Spread Online

South African Actress Forced To Come Out As A Lesbian After Newspaper Publicly Outs Her

New Report Reveals That 80% Of LGBT+ People Have Been Bullied Online

Morocco hides LGBT+ criminalisation in attempt to get FIFA World Cup

Keep up to date with the latest myGnews

Sign up to mygwork

________

LGBT professionals, LGBT Graduates, LGBT professional network, LGBT professional events, LGBT networking events, LGBT Recruitment, LGBT Friendly organisations, LGBT Friendly companies, LGBT jobs