Sam George’s claim that Italy created a Family Pride Month against LGBTQ+ false

A video of the Member of Parliament for Ningo Prampram, Sam George, issuing a strong warning to the Western nations concerning the passage of the LGBTQ+ bill in Ghana went viral last week. 

In the video, Sam George who was speaking on the floor of parliament made several claims about how some countries around the world are standing against the spread of homosexuality or LGBTQ+. In one of the claims, the MP said Italy has designated June as Family Protection Month in protest against LGBTQ+’s pride month. 

Fact-Check Ghana has verified this claim about Family Pride Month in Italy and presents the facts in this report. 

Claim: “…Italy designated June also as Family Protection Month to counter the pride month. Maybe that’s something Ghana should begin to consider that we make June a family values month to celebrate the Ghanaian family value.” 

Verdict: False 

Explanation: Prior to Sam George’s claim on the floor of Parliament, the claim that Italy has designated June as family pride or protection month against the pride month of the LGBTQ+ community had already gone viral on social media. 

Pride Month is a month-long celebration that honours the LGBTQ+ community, its history, achievements, and ongoing struggle for equality.

In June 2023, a popular YouTuber’s account on Instagram alleged in a viral video which showed the image of Italy’s Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, that Italy is changing LGBTQ Pride Month to Family Pride Month in order to celebrate traditional families. This claim also went viral on Twitter, Facebook, and Youtube. 

However, the Italian government’s official website or the Prime Minister’s official social media accounts has not announced any such news. 

In an interview with a political science professor and founding director of the LGBTQ+Politics and Research Initiative, Gabriele Magni, at the Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles on the video, he told usatoday.com that no Italian politician has made such information known to the public. 

According to the political science professor, some viral videos shared to support the claim are from previous marches for the “Manifestazione per la Vita” (National Demonstration for Life) which was organized by the anti-abortion and anti-LGBTQ+ Family Day Association, and not related to any “Family Pride Month.”

A spokesperson for Arcigay, a prominent LGBTQ+ advocacy group in Bologna, Italy, Vincenzo Branà,  also told the Association Press News that the group would strongly oppose such an idea if it ever came to fruition, adding that no such news had been announced. 

According to Reuters, the Lazio government, the right-wing government of the Lazio region, of which Rome is the capital, which had earlier said it was withdrawing its support for the city’s LGBTQ Pride parade said it had not received a request for support or sponsorship of Family Pride events. 

A spokesperson for the Rome-based anti-abortion group, Pro Vita & Famiglia, Jacopo Coghe, is reported to have told the Associated Press that the claim of a “Family Pride Month” is “fake news.”

In writing this report, Fact-Check Ghana reached out to the Italian Embassy in Ghana for a comment but as of the time of publication, the Embassy had not responded.

Indeed, about five different independent fact-checking organizations including usatoday.com, Reuters, and apnews.com have all fact-checked this claim and found it to be false. 

Therefore, Sam George’s claim about Italy designating June as a Family Pride Month is false.

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