A transgender Instagram influencer blamed for a wave of homophobic attacks in Morocco apologised on Wednesday for encouraging her followers to download dating apps that were then used to locate and publicly out gay men. Naoufal Moussa – known online as Sofia Taloni – told her 620,000 followers in Instagram live streams to download apps to locate gay men, a move she said aimed to show how many people were gay in the Islamic country and “humanize” homosexuality. But instead, Moroccan men on gay dating apps were tricked by potential dates into sharing intimate photos that were posted online, LGBT+ rights groups said, with some bullied, blackmailed and thrown out of family homes during coronavirus lockdowns. Moussa said she regretted her advice was used to “target gay men instead of bringing them closer to the mainstream society” in Morocco where homosexuality is illegal.