Organization honors hard-won victories and the supporters who made them possible
DELRAY BEACH, Fla. — Truth Wins Out (TWO) is celebrating its 20th anniversary, honoring two decades of exposing the “ex-gay” industry, challenging religious extremism, and defending the freedom to live openly and authentically. Founded in 2006, TWO enters its third decade with victories worth celebrating, supporters worth thanking, and an unwavering determination to keep fighting for the next generation’s freedom.
Our work continues and is stronger than ever. TWO will soon be releasing Volume III of “Behind the Mask: The Project 2025 Organizations Reshaping America.” The publication is the culmination of two years of work, creating a 1,000+ page dossier on the 114 organizations on Project 2025’s Advisory Board. We will capitalize on our research to unsparingly attack and expose these organizations in 2027.
“Twenty years ago, we rejected the insulting premise that LGBTQ people needed to be fixed,” said Truth Wins Out’s founder and Executive Director Wayne Besen. “We decided it was the organizations peddling shame and selling counterfeit cures that needed an intervention. Our supporters made that possible and our 20 Year anniversary belongs to everyone who helped us turn indignation into investigations, and investigations into results.”
Besen founded TWO after President George W. Bush welcomed “ex-gay” leaders to the White House to oppose marriage equality. Even the organization’s name was a challenge: a direct response to Focus on the Family’s Love Won Out conferences. TWO followed those events across the country, organizing protests and educational programs to challenge their claims.
The premise was simple: Nobody should be pressured to surrender their identity to satisfy someone else’s prejudice.
Twenty Years of Results
In 2011, TWO’s undercover investigation exposed conversion therapy at the clinic owned by Michele and Marcus Bachmann. TWO also helped the Southern Poverty Law Center identify plaintiffs for the landmark consumer-fraud lawsuit against JONAH, a conversion organization ultimately ordered to close. Survivors who had been told they were the problem helped hold the people who mistreated them accountable.
The campaigns helped persuade Apple to remove Exodus International organization’s app in 2011. In 2018–2019, TWO led another successful campaign against Living Hope Ministries’ “ex-gay” app, securing its removal from Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, and Google’s platforms.
TWO’s work also equipped the public to challenge misinformation. Respect My Research was a website we created that gave scientists a platform to confront right wing distortions of their findings. Our extensive YouTube video catalog features survivors, former “ex-gay” leaders, parents, scientists, and religious voices, documenting experiences that conversion programs would rather keep hidden.
In 2023, materials preserved by TWO helped inform CNN’s reporting on Mike Johnson’s earlier collaboration with Exodus International. It was a reminder that research matters: Evidence documented years earlier can expose the record of someone who later reaches the heights of political power.
But this anniversary is about more than headlines, investigations, or organizations held accountable. It celebrates the courage of people who refused to remain ashamed. Survivors entrusted TWO with painful experiences because they wanted to spare others the same pain and suffering. Additionally, former conversion leaders publicly repudiated programs they once promoted–and Truth Wins Out created an extensive written and video catalogue of these leaders recanting the “ex-gay” industry.
“The best reason to celebrate is the possibility our work creates,” said Besen. “A young person deserves to imagine a future filled with love, not a lifetime apologizing for existing. A parent deserves accurate information, not a charlatan’s invoice. We want people building happy lives, not paying someone to dismantle them.”
From Exposing Conversion Programs to Defending Democracy
TWO’s founding fight remains central to its work, but its reach has expanded. The Center Against Religious Extremism (TWOCARE) was created to investigate the Religious Right. TWO also co-founded the NALT Christians Project, demonstrating that support for LGBTQ equality and Christian faith are compatible.
“Our mission has grown because protecting LGBTQ people requires protecting the democracy that safeguards everyone’s rights,” Besen said. “We defend freedom of conscience, not government by religious decree. We believe in an open society where nobody must pass a theological test to enjoy equal citizenship. That is a future worth fighting for.”
A Celebration Powered by Supporters
TWO extends its deepest thanks to the donors, survivors, researchers, board members, colleagues, and allies who have sustained its work. Their contributions made these achievements possible. This milestone is theirs to celebrate.
To mark this milestone, TWO is asking supporters to make a tax-deductible anniversary contribution:
“If each person reading this makes a $20 tax-deductible donation today, for Truth Wins Out’s 20th anniversary, it will fund the organization’s advocacy for year 21,” said Besen.
Anniversary gifts will support the investigations, public education, survivor storytelling, and rapid-response advocacy that defines TWO’s work. Supporters able to contribute more are encouraged to do so; every gift helps carry this record of accomplishment into the next chapter.
“We have earned the right to celebrate,” said Besen. “But we are not retiring to admire the scrapbook. There are more lies to debunk, a democracy to defend, and more victories to win. Thank you for making these twenty years possible. Let’s make year twenty-one count.”
Donate $20 today to celebrate twenty years of Truth Wins Out and help fund the work ahead.
About Truth Wins Out
Truth Wins Out is a 501c3 nonprofit organization that works to advance liberty and democracy, protect the rights of LGBTQ people and other minorities, combat religious extremism, and fight against the spread of disinformation.
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