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‘The Washington Free Beacon’ vs. transgender people

The Washington Free Beacon is a conservative American group blog. It publishes consistently anti-transgender content. Notable anti-trans contributors include Stanley Goldfarb, Aaron Sibarium, Robert VerBruggen, and Matt Walsh.

Background

The Free Beacon was founded in 2012 by Michael Goldfarb (child of anti-trans activist Stanley Goldfarb of Do No Harm), Aaron Harrison, and Matthew Continetti (who is married to one of Bill Kristol’s children and was founding editor until 2019). Funding for the site originally came from billionaire Republican donors, which has drawn scrutiny and discussion regarding potential influence on editorial direction.

The site covers a wide range of topics, including federal government activities, congressional politics, elections, foreign policy, and national security. Its reporting has sometimes attracted attention for publishing stories critical of Democratic politicians, though it also occasionally covers controversies involving Republicans.

Over time, the outlet has expanded its staff and increased its coverage scope, including investigative journalism into lobbying, campaign finance, and policy decisions. While its content includes original reporting, it also features opinion columns from conservative commentators.

People

Founders

Masthead (2025)

  • Eliana Johnson Editor in Chief (since 2019)
  • Collin Anderson Executive Editor
  • Vic Matus Arts & Culture Editor
  • Peter Hasson Editor
  • Ethan Barton Editor
  • Zach Kessel Politics Editor
  • Karl Salzmann News Editor
  • Jameson Mitrovich Assistant Editor
  • Alex Welz Assistant Editor
  • Edwin Carlson Assistant Editor
  • Adam Kredo Senior Writer
  • Andrew Stiles Senior Writer
  • Alana Goodman Senior Investigative Reporter
  • Andrew Kerr Senior Investigative Reporter
  • Chuck Ross Senior Investigative Reporter
  • Jon Levine Political Reporter
  • Aaron Sibarium Staff Writer
  • Meghan Blonder Staff Writer
  • Jessica Costescu Staff Writer
  • Thomas Catenacci Staff Writer
  • Jessica Schwalb Staff Writer
  • Matthew Xiao Breaking News Writer
  • Thaleigha Rampersad Multimedia Manager
  • Matthew Continetti Founding Editor (2012–2019)

Contributors who have written about trans issues include:

References

Borchers, Callum (October 27, 2017). Analysis | Washington Free Beacon reported ‘an unknown GOP client’ funded Fusion GPS. It was the Beacon. The Washington Post https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/10/27/the-washington-free-beacon-reported-an-unknown-gop-client-funded-fusion-gps-it-was-the-washington-free-beacon/

Selected writing

Sibarium, Aaron (November 3, 2025). ‘Citation Diversity Statement’: A Renowned Chemist Sounds Off On Her Boycott of a Premier Scientific Journal. Washington Free Beacon https://freebeacon.com/america/citation-diversity-statement-a-renowned-chemist-sounds-off-on-her-boycott-of-a-premier-scientific-journal/

Sibarium, Aaron (October 13, 2025). The Problem With Conversion Therapy Bans. Washington Free Beacon https://freebeacon.com/america/the-problem-with-conversion-therapy-bans/

Sibarium, Aaron (September 15, 2025). EXCLUSIVE: FBI Investigating Social Media Accounts That Appeared To Indicate Foreknowledge of Kirk Assassination. Washington Free Beacon https://freebeacon.com/politics/exclusive-fbi-investigating-social-media-accounts-that-appeared-to-indicate-foreknowledge-of-kirk-assassination/

Goldfarb, Stanley (June 8, 2025). REVIEW: ‘The Age of Diagnosis: How Our Obsession with Medical Labels Is Making Us Sicker’ by Suzanne O’Sullivan. Washington Free Beacon https://freebeacon.com/culture/the-diagnosis-dilemma/

Sibarium, Aaron (January 16, 2025). Penn Professor’s Fight for Free Speech Heads to Federal Court. Washington Free Beacon https://freebeacon.com/campus/penn-professors-fight-for-free-speech-heads-to-federal-court/

Sibarium, Aaron (December 4, 2024). What Went Down at the Supreme Court Hearing on Tennessee’s Ban on Pediatric Gender Medicine. Washington Free Beacon https://freebeacon.com/courts/what-went-down-at-the-supreme-court-hearing-on-tennessees-ban-on-pediatric-gender-medicine/

Goldfarb, Stanley (November 24, 2024). In Search of a Second Opinion. REVIEW: ‘Blind Spots: When Medicine Gets It Wrong, and What It Means for Our Health’ by Marty Makary. Washington Free Beacon https://freebeacon.com/culture/in-search-of-a-second-opinion/

Sibarium, Aaron (July 23, 2024). Top Transgender Health Group Said Hormones, Surgeries Were ‘Medically Necessary’ So That Insurance Would Cover Them, Documents Show. Washington Free Beacon https://freebeacon.com/courts/top-transgender-health-group-said-hormones-surgeries-were-medically-necessary-so-that-insurance-would-cover-them-documents-show/

Sibarium, Aaron (October 4, 2023). Planned Parenthood is Helping Teenagers Transition After a 30 Minute Consult. Parents and Doctors are Sounding the Alarm. Washington Free Beacon https://freebeacon.com/latest-news/planned-parenthood-is-helping-teenagers-transition-after-a-30-minute-consult-parents-and-doctors-are-sounding-the-alarm/

Sibarium, Aaron (August 11, 2023). They Support Sex Changes for Children, With Safeguards. A Top Child Psychiatry Group Won’t Let Them Speak at Its Annual Conference. Washington Free Beacon https://freebeacon.com/campus/they-support-sex-changes-for-children-with-safeguards-a-top-child-psychiatry-group-wont-let-them-speak-at-its-annual-conference/

Sibarium, Aaron (May 15, 2023). How A Left-Wing Activist Group Teamed Up With Big Pharma To Push Radical Gender Ideology on American Hospitals. Washington Free Beacon https://freebeacon.com/latest-news/how-left-wing-activist-group-teamed-up-with-big-pharma-to-push-radical-gender-ideology-on-american-hospitals/

Sibarium, Aaron (March 3, 2023). Yale Law School Invites Drag Queen To Read Ibram X. Kendi Out Loud to Students. Washington Free Beacon https://freebeacon.com/campus/yale-law-school-invites-drag-queen-to-read-ibram-x-kendi-out-loud-to-students/

Sibarium, Aaron (February 17, 2023). Is Your Baby ‘Nonbinary’? Social Workers in Pennsylvania Are Now Required To Say. Washington Free Beacon https://freebeacon.com/latest-news/is-your-baby-nonbinary-social-workers-in-pennsylvania-are-now-required-to-say/

Sibarium, Aaron (December 7, 2022). The Hijacking of Pediatric Medicine. Washington Free Beacon https://freebeacon.com/coronavirus/the-hijacking-of-pediatric-medicine/

Sibarium, Aaron (June 28, 2022). A Gay Activist Group Gave Free Bus Tickets to Minorities and Trans People. It Likely Violated Civil Rights Law. Washington Free Beacon https://freebeacon.com/culture/a-gay-activist-group-gave-free-bus-tickets-to-minorities-and-trans-people-it-likely-violated-civil-rights-law/

Walsh, Matt (June 18, 2022). How Transgenderism Moved From Sideshow to the Main Stage: An excerpt from Matt Walsh’s new book, ‘What Is a Woman?’ Washington Free Beacon https://freebeacon.com/culture/how-transgenderism-moved-from-sideshow-to-the-main-stage/

Sibarium, Aaron (June 29, 2021). In the UK, Resistance to Transgender Activism Is Fueled by Socialized Medicine and Feminist Wine Moms. Washington Free Beacon https://freebeacon.com/culture/in-the-uk-resistance-to-transgender-activism-is-fueled-by-socialized-medicine-and-feminist-wine-moms/

Continetti, Matthew; Goldfarb, Michael (October 27, 2017). Fusion GPS and the Washington Free Beacon: A note to our readers. Washington Free Beacon https://freebeacon.com/uncategorized/fusion-gps-washington-free-beacon/

Resources

The Washington Free Beacon (freebeacon.com)

Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)

X/Twitter (x.com)

YouTube (youtube.com)

Ad Fontes (adfontesmedia.com)

LinkedIn (linkedin.com)

Instagram (instagram.com)

AllSides (allsides.com)

Muck Rack (muckrack.com)

PolitiFact (politifact.com)