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A host of right-wing figures, including Fox News personality Tucker Carlson, took aim at Washington Post journalist Taylor Lorenz on Tuesday after the reporter discovered the creator of “Libs of TikTok,” a Twitter account with more than half a million followers that shares anti-LGBTQ+ content and has become influential in conservative media.
The TikTok app is displayed on an iPhone.
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Lorenz posted a history Tuesday morning revealing that New York real estate salesman Chaya Raichik created Libs of TikTok, a social media account that has been promoted by a number of right-wing figures like podcast host Joe Rogan and Frequent Fox News guest and journalist Glenn Greenwald.
The account, which operates on Twitter and other social networks, often shares videos posted on various platforms by LGBTQ+ people and mocks them in captions, including several videos of teachers posted on Twitter and a video of a trans child posted on YouTube. with a caption calling the situation “child abuse”.
Libs of TikTok frequently promotes the narrative that young Americans are being “groomed” for homosexuality and transgenderism, and Lorenz, whose beat includes covering online culture, noted that the account has asked followers to complain on Twitter. schools, run for school board positions, and advocate. for policy changes.
The content has been amplified by TV personalities like Carlson and Laura Ingraham, and has also found a following among conservatives like Christina Pushaw and the Florida Governor’s press secretary, Ron DeSantis, who Lorenz wrote in his story once claimed that Libs of TikTok offered inspiration for a new Florida law limiting classroom instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity, which critics have dubbed the Don’t Say Gay law.
Content shared by the account has also found its way into the political arena on other occasions, including when a lawmaker in Nebraska repeated a false claim once pushed by Libs of TikTok that a school in Michigan was installing litter boxes in bathrooms for students who identify as cats.
After her story was published, Lorenz came under fire from right-wing figures including Carlson, who said on his show Tuesday night that Lorenz was working “for the deep state” and leading a “campaign of intimidation designed to shut down a feed.” of highly effective Twitter.
Some conservatives also accused Lorenz of harassment for knocking on Raichik’s door, as well as “doxing,” a form of cyberbullying in which people maliciously post sensitive or identifying information about someone, though journalists noted that knocking on doors it is a standard part of the reports. process, and the Libs of TikTok account was originally publicly registered in the name of Chaya Raichik.
Pushaw tweeted Tuesday the Mail was being used to “intimidate and mislead private citizens trying to protect children from leftist degenerates,” and Donald Trump Jr., the former president’s son, called Lorenz a “psychopath” in a tweet.
TikTok’s Lorenz and Libs did not immediately return requests for comment.
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Washington Post Senior Managing Editor Cameron Barr defended Lorenz’s reporting in a statement, calling the journalist “consistent and diligent” and saying that her methods “completely conform to The Washington Post’s professional standards.” Meanwhile, TikTok’s Libs called Barr’s statement “LIES”, claiming that the story included a “link to personal information” about Raichik that was removed “because they knew what they were doing was abhorrent”.
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“Instead of debating ‘doxxing,’ I hope people can read this story and see the shocking escalation of attacks against gay and trans people, and the crucial role this account has played in the right-wing media ecosystem,” Lorenz said. it’s a statement. cheep after the story was published.
key background
Although Libs of TikTok was temporarily suspended from Twitter and TikTok for violating community guidelines, the account has garnered more than half a million followers on Twitter, as well as thousands on Instagram, YouTube, and right-wing apps like GETTR. Raichik, who allegedly posted voter fraud conspiracy theories on a previous Twitter account and suggested he attended the Stop the Steal rally on January 6, 2021, has claimed in the past that several teachers were fired after appearing on the account. Lorenz reported. The bill’s popularity comes as GOP-led state legislatures across the country have sought to pass bills restricting discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity in schools, and while conservative pundits like Ingraham claim public schools are serving as “grooming centers.”
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Greenwald also lashed out at Lorenz on Twitter after her story was published Tuesday, claiming that she was “intimidating” Raichik’s relatives by going to their home to confirm Raichik’s identity. Lorenz wrote in her story that a woman at an address linked to Raichik’s name in Los Angeles did not identify herself and said a cheep Greenwald’s claim that he visited the Raichik family’s home allowed him to confirm that he had the correct home. Greenwald called this a “stupid viral lie”, alleging that Raichik asked Greenwald to publicize the fact that Lorenz went to the homes of Raichik’s relatives to “dissuade Taylor from harassing more people”.
Other readings
Meet the woman behind Libs of TikTok, secretly fueling the right-wing outrage machine (Washington Post)
Reference-www.forbes.com