It’s been quite the day on social media as battle lines have once again been drawn between conservatives and other independent-minded thinkers versus elitist cancel culture liberals and their narrow-minded allies in the mainstream press in response to WaPo “technology reporter” Taylor Lorenz doxxing the wildly popular “Libs of Tik Tok” Twitter account in part by tracking down family members of the person who runs it.
As we previously reported, tensions erupted even before the article went live as supporters of LoTT pointed out how just a few weeks ago Lorenz herself appeared on MSNBC in tear-filled “interview” in which she stated she had “severe PTSD” and had contemplated suicide due to the online harassment she alleges she’s received as a result of doing her job – which involves the online harassment of social media users, some of who post anonymously out of fear of retribution from their opposition and/or their employers.
While Lorenz spent the day patting herself on the back and retweeting supposed “journalists” who are, unbelievably, defending her latest attempt at canceling someone for speech she doesn’t like, the Washington Post crafted a statement of support of Lorenz in response to the justifiable outrage that ensued over the hit piece, a piece that I should note quoted the liberal hacks at Media Matters and the ACLU as authoritative sources.
In it, they made a number of claims in defending Lorenz’s “reporting” that don’t pass the smell test. Before we get to that, let’s first take a look at what Washington Post managing editor Cameron Barr wrote:
“Taylor Lorenz is an accomplished and diligent journalist whose reporting methods comport entirely with the Washington Post’s professional standards. Chaya Raichik, in her management of the Libs of TikTok Twitter account and in media interviews, has had significant impact on public discourse and her identity had become public knowledge on social media. We did not publish or link to any details about her personal life.”
As Newsbusters media editor Bill D’Agostino astutely pointed out, however, Barr’s remarks – not surprisingly – contained multiple falsehoods:
— Bill D'Agostino (@Banned_Bill) April 19, 2022
How big were the falsehoods in the WaPo’s statement? This big:
The WaPo article by Taylor Lorenz originally linked to the real estate license for the person behind the Libs of TikTok account— the link listed the person’s name, real estate license number, possible physical address, etc. WaPo only removed the link after being called out on it.
— Jerry Dunleavy (@JerryDunleavy) April 19, 2022
Here’s a screengrab of what they originally included in the story (private information blocked out by Twitter user):
Wished I could have placed a bet on “Taylor Lorenz’s boss will release a statement about her by the end of the day.”
If Lorenz’s conduct is within the WaPo’s professional standards, we need to block the entire staff.
They’re lying about not linking details of her personal life. https://t.co/CA8WXAMTmz pic.twitter.com/DHwVckxLBj
— American Nordau (@MaxNordau) April 19, 2022
In other words, the WaPo straight-up lied through their teeth and are just assuming their critics won’t notice.
Fortunately, LoTT is going to come out on top of this even better, stronger, and more powerful thanks to the gracious folks at The Babylon Bee, but that shouldn’t mean the WaPo gets let off the hook. People who don’t want to let them get away with what they did should feel free to send an email using the editor email addresses listed here and (respectfully but firmly) let them know what they think.
Flashback: Glenn Youngkin Gets Last Laugh After WaPo Issues ‘Clarification’ on Hit Piece That Fell Apart
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