GLAAD report finds most Americans see no HIV stories in media

GLAAD’s sixth annual State of HIV Stigma Report, released Thursday in partnership with Gilead Sciences, found that most Americans have gone a full year without encountering a single story about someone living with HIV — a gap the LGBTQ media advocacy group says is fueling stigma even as medical treatment for the virus has become more effective than ever.

According to the report, which was based on a survey of 2,500 U.S. adults, focus groups conducted with Ipsos, and community interviews, 72% of Americans reported not seeing any media stories about real people living with HIV over the past year, up from 66% the year before.

According to the report, 70% of Americans saw no depictions of people living with HIV on TV or in film over the past year, a steady climb from 65% in 2024 and 61% in 2023. GLAAD’s Where We Are on TV study found only one LGBTQ character living with HIV appeared on scripted television during the 2024-2025 season — Cris Miro, the title character of HBO Max’s biographical series “Cris Miró (Ella)” — and GLAAD says she will not be returning.

The group’s Where We Are in Film study, which reviewed 225 movies from 10 major studios, found only one film — “Fairyland” — featured characters living with HIV; GLAAD counted two such characters in the film. The Lionsgate release, set in 1970s and ’80s San Francisco, centers on a gay father who is diagnosed with HIV, rather than depicting the disease as it is managed today.

Podcasts and social media showed similarly thin coverage. Just 0.09% of podcast episodes analyzed mentioned HIV over the past year, and only 15% of Americans reported seeing a social media story about someone living with HIV in that time — despite 75% of LGBTQ adults and 65% of non-LGBTQ adults saying they check social media for news several times a week.

GLAAD described the pattern as an “invisibility paradox,” in which the less the public sees real depictions of people with HIV, the more room is left for outdated assumptions and misinformation to take hold. 

GLAAD President and Chief Executive Officer Sarah Kate Ellis said the findings should push newsrooms and studios to catch up to the science.

“Ending HIV will require all of us to choose truth over misinformation,” Ms. Ellis said in a statement accompanying the report.

According to the report, 44% of Americans disagreed with the scientific consensus that a person with HIV who maintains an undetectable viral load cannot sexually transmit the virus, a principle known as U=U, or undetectable equals untransmittable. And according to the report, only 31% of Gen Z adults said they felt knowledgeable about HIV, compared with 60% of Gen X adults — a further decline from the 37% GLAAD reported for Gen Z in its 2024 study. 

The report was produced by the GLAAD Media Institute. GLAAD’s own release states the organization has partnered with Gilead Sciences on HIV education efforts since 2019. The full report is available on GLAAD’s website.