State Farm accused of pushing LGBTQ+ books on kids, Consumers’ Research launches ‘Like a Creepy Neighbor’
Categories: US Education News
State Farm is being accused of recruiting agents to push books about gender fluidity on young children, and a new ad campaign by Consumers' Research slams the insurance giant as "a creepy neighbor" to spotlight claims by an internal whistleblower."Consumers’ Research is launching a campaign against State Farm Insurance because, recently a whistleblower brought to our attention evidence – email chain traffic – showing that they have been intentionally trying to target kindergartners for discussions around transgender issues, sexual identity issues, without notifying their parents or without their consent, and specifically targeting them in the public schools," Consumers' Research executive director Will Hild Fox News Digital. The internal email that a whistleblower provided to Consumers’ Research, a nonprofit that aims to "increase the knowledge and understanding of issues, policies, products, and services of concern to consumers and to promote the freedom to act on that knowledge and understanding," was sent by State Farm corporate responsibility analyst Jose Soto. It urges Florida agents to take action and provide LGBTQ+ books to children. "State Farm is partnering with The Gender Cool Project to help diversify classroom, community center and library bookshelves with a collection of books to help bring clarity and understanding to the national conversation about Being Transgender, Inclusive and Non-Binary. The project’s goal is to increase representation of LGBTQ+ books and support our communities in having challenging, important and empowering conversations with children Age 5+," Soto wrote. "Agents are key to the success of this program. Nationwide, approximately 550 State Farm agents and employees will have the opportunity to donate this 3-book bundle to their local teacher, community center or library of their choice." "The first thing we did is, of course, we wanted to verify this information. We reached out to other Florida State Farm agents to make sure that they had also gotten the email. And then we researched some of the materials, specifically the Gender Cool Project that's mentioned in the email. If you go onto their website, you'll find that State Farm is listed by name and by their logo as a sponsor and a partner of that project," Hild said. Indeed, the Gender Cool Project, which describes itself as "helping replace misinformed opinions with positive experiences meeting transgender and non-binary youth who are thriving," lists State Farm as a partner. "At State Farm, we are committed to diversity and inclusion; they aren’t just words, they are truly part of how we do business and lead our organization. We recognize and value the diversity of all people, and support a culture of respect and inclusion in the communities in which we live and work, as well as our workplace. The LGBTQ+ community is a valued part of the communities we serve and are valued members of our workplace," State Farm told Fox News Digital in a statement. "State Farm’s support of a philanthropic program, GenderCool, has been the subject of news and customer inquiries. This program that included books about gender identity was intended to promote inclusivity. Conversations about gender and identity should happen at home with parents. We don’t support required curriculum in schools on this topic. We support organizations providing resources for parents to have these conversations.We no longer support the program allowing for distribution of books in schools. We will continue to explore how we can support organizations that provide tools and resources that align with our commitment to diversity and inclusion.We recognize and value the diversity of all people, and support a culture of respect and inclusion in the communities in which we live and work, as well as our workplace."