The Washington Post is an American media organization. It is considered a paper of record for the United States, along with The New York Times.
Washington Post has covered trans issues with several important initiatives, including the 2023 KFF/The Washington Post Trans Survey.
In December 2024, the Post signaled a significant shift that reflected relentless laundering of anti-trans extremism into mainstream media. The editorial board presented gender affirming care for minors as a controversy where “the medical questions have not been properly resolved,” citing “scientists’ failure to study these treatments slowly and systematically.”
Leadership
- Sally Buzbee, Executive Editor
- Krissah Thompson, Managing Editor
- Justin Bank, Managing Editor
- Barbara Vobejda, Managing Editor
- Monica Norton, Deputy Managing Editor
- Mark W. Smith, Deputy Managing Editor
- Scott Vance, Deputy Managing Editor
- Liz Seymour, Deputy Managing Editor (Newsroom operations, standards and planning)
- Ann Gerhart, Senior Visual Enterprise Editor
- Erika Allen, Head of Audience Strategy and Growth
- Coleen O’Lear, Head of Curation and Platforms
- Carla Broyles, Senior Career Development Editor
- Sommer Mathis, Senior Recruiting Editor
- Terrell Mizell, Senior Recruiting Consultant
- Matea Gold, National Editor
- Phil Rucker, Deputy National Editor
- Douglas Jehl, Foreign Editor
- Jennifer Amur, Deputy Foreign Editor
- Mike Semel, Local Editor
- Maria Glod, Deputy Local Editor
- Ben Williams, Features Editor
- Hank Stuever, Deputy Features Editor
- Tara Parker-Pope, Wellness Editor
- Anjuman Ali, Deputy Wellness Editor
- Lori Montgomery, Business Editor
- Damian Paletta, Deputy Business Editor
- Christina Passariello, Deputy Business Editor
- Jeff Leen, Investigations Editor
- David Fallis, Deputy Investigations Editor
- Eric Rich, Deputy Investigations Editor
- Jason Murray, Sports Editor
- Matthew Rennie, Deputy Sports Editor
- Zachary Goldfarb, Climate and Environment Editor
- Juliet Eilperin, Deputy Climate and Environment Editor
- Meghan Hoyer, Data Reporting Director
- Anu Narayanswamy, Deputy Data Editor
- Micah Gelman, Director of Editorial Video
- David Bruns, Executive Producer
- Lauren Saks, Executive Producer
- MaryAnne Golon, Photography Director
- Robert Miller, Deputy Photography Director
- Dudley Brooks, Deputy Photography Director
- Sandra Stevenson, Deputy Photography Director
- Courtney Rukan, Multiplatform Editing Chief
- Brian Cleveland, Deputy Multiplatform Editor
- Nora Simon, Deputy News Service Editor
- Kenisha Malcolm, Curation Desk Editor
- Anne Bartlett, Live Editing Chief
- Charity Brown, Deputy Newsroom Product Director
- Keith McMillan, General Assignment Editor
- Herman Wong, Deputy General Assignment Editor
Assessments
Statista
“The Washington Post’s credibility fared relatively well in 2022, with a survey revealing that 48 percent of respondents believed the publication to be very or somewhat credible. The Washington Post’s credibility rating was slightly lower than that of The New York Times, and the paper also lost out to The Wall Street Journal in this regard.”
Ad Fontes Media (adfontesmedia.com)
Ad Fontes Media rates Washington Post in the Skews Left category of bias and as Generally Reliable/Analysis OR Other Issues in terms of reliability.
- https://adfontesmedia.com/washington-post-bias-and-reliability/
- Reliability: 38.15
- Bias: -8.75
NewsGuard (newsguardtech.com)
- Standards met:
- Standards failed:
- as of 1 January 2020
Contributors
The following people have had writing published in the Washington Post.
- Erica Anderson
- McKenzie Beard
- Laura Edwards-Leeper
- Megan McArdle
- Sara Solovitch
- Donna St. George
- Erik Wemple
Letters of note
- Rachel Cornwell and Liz Matthews
2024 editorial critical of youth gender medicine
In December 2024, the Post signaled a significant shift that reflected relentless laundering of anti-trans extremism into mainstream media.
Without citing any recent research finding low regret rates or citing any countries that have reaffirmed the benefits of gender affirming care for minors, the editorial notes “at least some patients who transitioned later experience regret and suffer the fate the treatments were supposed to avoid: a body that doesn’t match their gender identity.”
Signaling their desire to have a politically-appointed non-expert review similar to the UK’s disastrous Cass Review, the Post urged a US non-expert review “overseen by scientists who are not gender medicine practitioners.”
They cited the following:
- the British Cass Review by anti-trans pediatrician Hilary Cass and the subsequent ban of puberty blockers for trans minors (but not cis minors)
- the report by the Norwegian Healthcare Investigation Board (UKOM) criticizing gender affirming care as “experimental”
- the report by Swedish activist Mikael Landén et al criticizing gender affirming care as “experimental”
- a paper by Carmichael et al, ignoring that overall patient experience was positive, focusing instead on psychological function, which The Post characterized as “lackluster results”
- a Jesse Singal blog post critical of a New England Journal of Medicine paper on psychosocial functioning, in which The Post claimed they “massaged the results”
- an Economist piece attacking WPATH
- a Boston Globe piece about psychologist Amy Tishelman’s lawsuit against Boston Children’s Hospital
- a New York Times piece by Azeen Ghorayshi attacking pediatrician Johanna Olson-Kennedy
Anti-trans activists lauded the editorial, including Leor Sapir, Jesse Singal, Benjamin Ryan, Lisa Selin Davis, and Partners for Ethical Care. The editorial was praised by consistently anti-trans conservative platforms, including National Review, Catholic Vote, Ovarit, and X.
The authors were:
- David Shipley, Opinion Editor
- Charles Lane, Deputy Opinion Editor
- Stephen Stromberg, Deputy Opinion Editor
- Mary Duenwald
- James Hohmann
- Eduardo Porter
- Keith B. Richburg
References
Wilchins, Riki (December 20, 2024). The Anti-Care Playbook. Assigned Media https://www.assignedmedia.org/breaking-news/washington-post-anti-care-playbook
Lazine, Mira (December 16, 2024). Opinion: Washington Post Editorial Board Misleadingly Attacks Care Of Trans Youth. Erin in the Morning https://www.erininthemorning.com/p/opinion-washington-post-editorial
Schorr, Isaac (December 16, 2024). Washington Post Editorial Board Declares There Is ‘Reason to Worry’ About Transgender Treatments for Kids. Mediaite https://www.mediaite.com/news/washington-post-editorial-board-declares-there-is-reason-to-worry-about-transgender-treatments-for-kids/
Berry, Susan (December 18, 2024). Washington Post admits subjecting children to ‘transgender medicine’ not based on ‘science.’ Catholic Vote https://catholicvote.org/washington-post-admits-subjecting-children-to-transgender-medicine-not-based-on-science/
Butler, Jack (December 17, 2024). Transgender Skepticism from . . . the Washington Post? National Review https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/transgender-skepticism-from-the-washington-post/
Selected anti-trans publications
Editorial board (December 15, 2024). Look to science, not law, for real answers on youth gender medicine. Washington Post https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/12/15/skrmetti-case-youth-transition-trans-supreme-court/ alt title: Opinion | Skrmetti court case won’t settle questions about youth gender medicine.
Resources
The Washington Post (washingtonpost.com)
- Twitter: washingtonpost
- YouTube: WashingtonPost
Britannica (britannica.com)
Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)
WorldCat (worldcat.org)