TV presenter from Polish state television criticizes previous content promoting discrimination against the LGBT community

A journalist from Poland's state broadcaster has publicly apologized for his channel's role in spreading anti-LGBT sentiment. Wojciech Szelag, the host of TVP Info, acknowledged that LGBT individuals had been targeted for years with hateful language. TVP Info has faced criticism for being a mouthpiece for the Law and Justice party, the previous governing party. However, since Prime Minister Donald Tusk took office, changes have been implemented at the broadcaster. During a show called Guest of the Evening, Szelag expressed his apologies to two activists, emphasizing that LGBT+ individuals are not an ideology but real people with names, faces, loved ones, and friends. Bart Staszewski, one of the activists, stated that he was almost moved to tears upon hearing the apology. Under the Law and Justice party, TVP frequently aired anti-LGBT stories. Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the party's leader, regularly criticized those who identified as LGBT and accused Western Europe of exporting foreign ideas to Poland. President Andrzej Duda, also affiliated with the party, classified LGBT as an ideology rather than acknowledging the individuals themselves. Staszewski accused the previous government of using TVP Info as a tool to spread hatred against people like him. In December 2023, TVP Info was taken off air after Minister of Culture Bartłomiej Sienkiewicz dismissed top officials. The government explained that this was done to depoliticize state media, though critics expressed concerns about the methods used to regain editorial control. The Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights called for urgent reform in public media but raised doubts about the new government's approach. PiS politicians protested by occupying the channel's headquarters, but TVP Info resumed broadcasting at the end of December with a changed editorial direction. Szelag joined TVP Info in January as part of a series of personnel changes made by the new government. The new management of TVP Info has also issued apologies for their past attacks on Paweł Adamowicz, the former mayor of Gdańsk, known for his progressive views and support for LGBT rights. Polish LGBT activists accuse TVP Info of actively spreading anti-LGBT hate during the Law and Justice party's rule. In 2020, a court ordered the channel to remove an anti-LGBT film called "Invasion" from YouTube.