Authoritarians will always find a small group to amplify and demonize. It's their only tactic. They can't or won't seek to make life better for their neighbor or even follow the golden rule.
Their worldview is based on power, protection, and hierarchy; like chickens. There must always be an enemy to watch out for.
Media in general will amplify availability bias because it's profitable. Authoritarians who can't handle anything that disrupts their precious fantasy world will be preoccupied with anything that seems to threaten that worldview. COVID has shown us that they'll literally die on that hill.
I'm old enough to remember the Christine Jorgensen story back in the day. She transitioned back in 1952. Ok, a little before my time, but her story made famous in 1970 was fascinating.
What we're witnessing now is a certain subset of the population trying desperately to stay dominant by finding another subset to hate and vilify for political and financial gain.
In the worldview of reactionaries, the enemy is both powerful, plentiful and dangerous. It's the selling point of authoritarianism.