They Got the Beat!

Courtesy of Greater Than AIDS (Model(s) used for illustrative purposes only)

Social media stars shine the spotlight on HIV.

August 15, 2016 • By Trenton Straube

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Bob the Drag Queen walked away with the crown on this year’s RuPaul’s Drag Race, and she’s already putting her celebrity to good use: sashaying in a public service video series called HIV Beats, where she promotes the daily HIV prevention pill Truvada as PrEP, or pre-exposure prophylaxis.

Bob’s one of six YouTube sensations in the snazzy series that educates younger audiences about the virus. “It’s obviously important to know how to protect yourself from HIV—but it’s just as important to know how you can’t get HIV,” says Todrick Hall in a spot that spells out, in less than 90 seconds, 15 ways you won’t contract the virus. In other videos, transgender artist Zackary Drucker explains why HIV doesn’t have to stand in the way of love; Catrific gets the word out that meds can help HIV-positive women have HIV-negative babies; gay YouTuber Davey Wavey breaks down the meaning and importance of being undetectable; and Amber’s Closet reminds viewers that today’s HIV tests are faster and easier than ever before.

Made in collaboration with YouTube, the HIV Beats campaign is created by Greater Than AIDS, which is directed by the Kaiser Family Foundation, and the #endHIV campaign, which is part of the Abzyme Research Foundation.

“An AIDS-free future is possible,” says Kaiser’s Tina Hoff, “but young people must be engaged. HIV Beats reaches young people where they are with the information they need to stay healthy.” Case in point: Todrick Hall boasts more than 2.1 million YouTube subscribers—that’s a lot of millennial engagement.

Read more articles from POZ, here.