Technology columnist Taylor Lorenz, who covers online culture for The Washington Post, has yet again found herself at the center of ridicule online after gunning for popular conservative account Libs of TikTok.
On Monday, Libs of TikTok published direct messages that Lorenz had sent her, asking for a comment on a colleague’s story that suggests the woman behind the account is responsible for targeting hospitals.
Lorenz said her colleague was publishing a story on influencers who “spread narratives about election fraud in 2020.”
“You are not one of these influencers, but your account has received extensive promotion from them,” the DM reads. “We mention in the story that your account has helped to foster violence and that your posts led to death threats against medical providers at Boston Children’s Hospital, and a bomb threat caused the hospital to be evacuated. We also say you intend to continue to target hospitals. Do you have any comment?”
Lorenz followed up a few hours later after no response came from the account. The deadline for publishing was less than five hours away at the time of her initial message.
“I’m sorry but I can’t date you. I’m straight,” the Libs of TikTok founder replied, adding in a tweet with screenshots of the exchange, “Why is she obsessed with me?”
“I think you accidentally replied to the wrong DM. This is Taylor Lorenz from the Washington Post and we’re asking you to reply to the question above,” Lorenz replied, following up with a repeat of her initial message.
“Hey Tay, I know getting rejected must be really difficult,” the Libs of TikTok founder shot back. “In some good news, Ross has a 55+ senior discount on Thursday so maybe that will make you feel better.”
https://twitter.com/libsoftiktok/status/1569463527529906176?s=20&t=_YQCR_JMT9FNua4ntWT_ugThe article in question was centered around Libs of TikTok’s recent suspension from Twitter for “hateful content,” which occurred after she tweeted out recordings of employees at Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C. These recordings caught the employees stating that the hospital performs gender-affirming hysterectomies on minors, admitting on recording that they would perform them on girls as young as 16.
The hospital later claimed those employees were incorrect and it does not perform gender-affirming surgery on minors.
However, after the calls were reported on, the hospital received a bomb threat, which police later revealed to be a hoax.
The feud between Lorenz and Libs of TikTok began earlier this year after Lorenz was responsible for writing an article which revealed the identity behind the account as Chaya Raichik. Lorenz went to the homes of Raichik’s family members in an effort to obtain a comment.
The controversy came after the Post story doxxed Raichik by linking her real estate license, a document which included her name, real estate license number, and possible home address. The Post removed the link after accusations of the doxxing began flying.
Lorenz herself has frequently complained about online harassment, even going so far as to cry about her troubles during an MSNBC interview. In the months since the inciting incident, Lorenz has upped her attacks on Raichik, publishing multiple articles attacking the Libs of TikTok founder, but has met with little success, as Raichik’s platform recently surpassed one million followers.
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