Overview
- The State of HIV Stigma report, published on Thursday, August 20, 2026, found that 72% of Americans said they had not seen stories featuring real people living with HIV in the past year.
- GLAAD’s cross‑platform audit shows 70% of Americans did not see depictions of people with HIV in TV or film, only one LGBTQ TV character with HIV appeared in the 2024–2025 season and is not returning, and just one of 225 major studio films included an HIV character.
- Mentions of HIV were scarce across other formats, with 0.09% of podcast episodes referencing HIV and only 15% of people reporting they saw a story about someone living with HIV on social media in the past year.
- Public understanding and stigma remain large barriers: 79% say people with HIV face discrimination, 77% say stigma discourages testing, 73% say it discourages treatment, and 44% do not accept that an undetectable viral load prevents sexual transmission (U=U).
- GLAAD, working with the GLAAD Media Institute and partner Gilead Sciences, links its findings to public‑health stakes — about 1.2 million people in the U.S. live with HIV and roughly 13% are undiagnosed — and calls for accurate, contemporary portrayals to boost testing and care.