Over the past couple of days, as CNN has updated its viewers on efforts to repeal the North Carolina bathroom law, the news network has again been misinforming its audience on whether transgender individuals would be able to arrange to use the public restroom of their preferred gender.
Even though North Carolina state law allows people to change their gender designation on their birth certificate if they undergo surgery to change their gender, CNN not only fails to inform its viewers of this alternative, but sometimes even suggests that such alternatives do not exist.
Since yesterday, correspondent Nick Valencia repeatedly made misleading claims on CNN Newsroom such as stating that the law "made it illegal for transgender people to use the bathroom of their choice," that "transgender people still need to use the bathroom that corresponds with the gender on their birth certificate, not how they identify," and that "the legislation requires transgender people in public buildings to use the bathroom that corresponds with the gender assigned at birth."
Such accounts suggest there is no way way for transgender individuals to legally arrange to use any restrooms unless it is for the gender originally on their birth certificate, not noting that the birth certificate can be changed.
CNN similarly misled viewers on how the bathroom law would work last spring as it was being debated.
