Facebook Honored for Inclusive Work

Facebook's Andrew Noyes and Sara Sperling

At Saturday's 23rd annual GLAAD Media Awards in San Francisco, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation honored Facebook with a Special Recognition Award for its inclusive work in creating a welcoming space for LGBT people.

The award initially stems from Facebook working with GLAAD after the social media site was inundated with antigay messages and images during the first Spirit Day in 2010. That effort, initiated by teen Brittany McMillan, encourages people to wear purple and change their Facebook profile to that color in order to call attention to antigay bullying. Facebook has since worked to remove hateful comments from status updates, at the same time allowing people to identify themselves as LGBT and announce themselves as married to same-sex partners.

The award was presented by McMillan to Facebook staffers Andrew Noyes and Sara Sperling. Sperling spoke about how Facebook brought two lesbians together in the United Arab Emirates. Watch Noyes and Sperling accept their award below and read more here.