FRIENDS IN AMERICA: DO NOT SIGN UP FOR ANY LGBTQIA+ STUDIES OR SURVEYS. chances are they’re fake/being monitored and your real/legal name will be recorded
As has been pointed out by more legally-savvy people than me, the problem is not “oh no! The VA is running a totally fake study as a front to collect info about LGBT vets!” That’s conspiracy-brained fearmongering. Slightly better is “oh no! someone is impersonating the VA to collect info about LGBT vets!” but it doesn’t quite hit the root of the problem.
The problem is that even a perfectly legitimate study collects data that someone else might access. It’s not enough to ask yourself, “Is this a real study, and is it being carried out for well-intentioned purposes?” You have to also ask yourself, “Do I think this organization is equipped to safeguard any info from the study for as long as Trump and his buddies are in positions to demand that info, knowing that he intends to lie, change the rules, ignore the rules, and appoint people who will help him do all of the above?”
The VA study is a potential risk because the VA is a federal institution, and as such it may be easier for other parts of the federal government to rifle through their records for anything they can use.
amhrancas 