As Washington's political and media class descends on the capital for White House Correspondents’ Dinner weekend, the Human Rights Campaign has a message for some of them on Grindr: "F*** Around and Find Out."
The LGBTQ+ advocacy group launched a geofenced ad campaign Friday and Saturday around the Correspondents’ Dinner and a Grindr-hosted party in Georgetown, targeting users who open the app near the weekend’s most visible gatherings. The ads link to HRC’s "My Body, My Health” campaign page and its broader "100 Days of Healthcare" initiative, which focuses on HIV prevention, access to care, and fighting stigma.
"Dinner guests and partygoers are going to rub elbows with folks undermining access to HIV prevention and care here in D.C. and across the country, and we want them to know what’s at stake — and to stay safe, no matter who they go home with,” an HRC spokesperson told The Advocate.
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LGBTQ+ advocates and public health leaders warn that President Donald Trump’s broader health agenda threatens HIV prevention infrastructure. Their concerns include executive orders targeting diversity, equity, and inclusion programs across federal agencies, the removal of LGBTQ+ health resources from government websites, and disruptions to public health programs at the Department of Health and Human Services that could weaken access to prevention, testing, and treatment.
This ad will display on Grindr screens around the White House Correspondents' DinnerHuman Rights Campaign
The administration has also faced criticism for proposed cuts and policy shifts affecting HIV prevention programs, including access to PrEP, testing, and community health outreach. For LGBTQ+ communities, particularly gay and bisexual men and transgender people, who remain disproportionately affected by HIV stigma and barriers to care, those policies shape daily life far beyond Washington’s political theater.
HRC says its goal is to help “build a generation free of HIV and stigma.”
The campaign lands during one of Washington’s most visible social and political weekends.
Saturday night’s main event is the dinner itself at the historic Washington Hilton in Northwest Washington, where the annual gathering is traditionally held. Often called “nerd prom,” the event is meant to celebrate the First Amendment and the role of a free press while drawing presidents, lawmakers, journalists, celebrities, and lobbyists under one roof.
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This year, though, the spectacle comes with unusual tension.
Trump is attending the event for the first time as president after years of boycotting the event and repeatedly attacking the press as “fake news” and “the enemy of the people.” His appearance follows months of fights over press access, lawsuits against media organizations, and broader efforts to undermine independent journalism. In a recent Advocate opinion essay, former White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre called Trump’s attendance “not a peace offering” but “a contradiction,” arguing that showing up at a celebration of journalism while attacking the First Amendment makes the symbolism especially jarring.
That heightened scrutiny is exactly what HRC is using.
The weekend now stretches far beyond the ballroom, into receptions, embassy parties, branded after-parties, and private gatherings where journalists, administration officials, celebrities, and political operatives move through the same rooms. This year, Grindr joined that circuit with one of the weekend’s buzziest events in Georgetown, where The Advocate observed broadcaster Don Lemon, CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins, Real Housewives of Salt Lake City’s Bronwyn Newport, political commentator Charlotte Clymer, and Grindr CEO George Arison among the many prominent guests. Florida Democratic Congressman Jared Moskowitz was one of several politicians in attendance.
The party is part of a larger cultural moment for the app. Just this month, Madonna partnered with Grindr to promote her new album Confessions II, reviving an earlier relationship the platform had with her during the 2015 rollout of Rebel Heart.
