This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

Hillary Clinton logged on to Facebook on Friday to offer words of encouragement and advice to a gay teen.

The leading Democratic presidential candidate posted remarks in response to a photo posted by the page of Humans of New York, a project run by photographer Brandon Stanton.

“I’m a homosexual and I’m afraid about what my future will be and that people won’t like me,” Stanton quotes the young New Yorker captured in his photograph as saying.

An hour after Stanton posted the photo, the official Clinton campaign account left the following comment: “Prediction from a grown-up: Your future is going to be amazing. You will surprise yourself with what you’re capable of and the incredible things you go on to do. Find the people who love and believe in you – there will be lots of them.”

Clinton signed the comment with “-H”, which is used on social media to indicate that she is the author the post.

Kristina Schake, deputy communications director for the Hillary for America campaign, then shared the comment on Twitter:

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Two hours after Stanton posted the photo, it had accrued more than 20,000 comments.

This is not the first time Clinton has offered her support to the LGBT community.

Last month, when she officially launched her campaign in New York, the former secretary of state criticized Republican opponents in the developing 2016 race for turning “their backs on gay people who love each other”.

On 26 June, when the US supreme court ruled to legalize same-sex marriage, she said she was celebrating the “landmark victory for marriage equality”.

“For too many LGBT Americans who are subjected to discriminatory laws, true equality is still just out of reach,” Clinton said. “While we celebrate today, our work won’t be finished until every American can not only marry, but live, work, pray, learn and raise a family free from discrimination and prejudice. We cannot settle for anything less.”