Tucker: 'Libs of TikTok' hit is obviously an intimidation campaign
Fox News host reacts on 'Tucker Carlson Tonight' to the woman behind 'Libs of TikTok' being outed.
Washington Post tech reporter Taylor Lorenz has made headlines for everything from falsely accusing someone of using incendiary language to labeling America a "trash country," resulting in the scribe emerging as one of the media industry's most controversial figures.
Lorenz, an outspokenly liberal reporter who left The New York Times for the Washington Post this year, found herself back in the news this week when she revealed the identity of the previously anonymous woman behind the popular Libs of TikTok Twitter account, only a few weeks after crying on MSNBC because of online harassment she had faced herself.
Lorenz revealed her name, occupation, religion and where in the country she lived. The article even included a hyperlink that exposed personal information such as her work address – but the Post later removed the link after being called out by critics.
Washington Post tech writer Taylor Lorenz. (MSNBC) (MSNBC)
WASHINGTON POST'S TAYLOR LORENZ DOXXES LIBS OF TIKTOK DAYS AFTER DECRYING ONLINE HARASSMENT OF WOMEN
Lorenz appeared at the home of one of Libs of TikTok's relatives, with the Twitter personality sharing a photo of the masked reporter waiting at the front door.
Lorenz is now being confronted with accusations of hypocrisy as her story came just weeks after she sat down with MSNBC about online harassment she has experienced, sharing violent threats she had received and claiming she suffers from "severe PTSD" that led to contemplations of suicide.
"You feel like any little piece of information that gets out on you will be used by the worst people on the internet to destroy your life and it’s so isolating," an emotional Lorenz told MSNBC. "It’s horrifying … It’s overwhelming."
Lorenz also tweeted earlier this month that "doxxing, stalking, trying to hurt and smear ppl's love[d] ones, threatening them, it's not ok in any situation."
In addition to a variety of journalistic ethic snafus, she has been vague about her age. Wikipedia indicates she was born sometime in between 1978 and 1987, and she recently declared she was 43 years old, despite numerous publications suggesting she is much younger.
Taylor Lorenz has said she’s 43 years old despite past profiles of her indicating she's far younger.
Here are some of her most memorable moments:
Lorenz scolds MSNBC
Lorenz ripped MSNBC earlier this month, saying the network "f--ked up royally" after a segment about online harassment of women that she participated in resulted in "even worse online harassment."
Following the segment, Lorenz appeared less than thrilled with the feedback she received after claiming she suffers from "severe PTSD" due to being harassed on social media.
"If your segment or story on ‘online harassment’ leads to even worse online harassment for your subjects, you f--ked up royally and should learn how to cover these things properly before ever talking about them again," Lorenz tweeted.
"I could teach an entire class on this stuff, but the simple fact is that very few people in power in newsrooms actually understand how the modern internet and online landscape works, and so they continually give ammo to bad actors," Lorenz added.
Washington Post reporter Taylor Lorenz has been confronted with accusations of hypocrisy as her story doxxing Libs of TikTok came just weeks after she sat down with MSNBC about online harassment she has experienced, sharing violent threats she had received and claiming she suffers from "severe PTSD" and had contemplated suicide. ( (Photo by Eric BARADAT / AFP) (Photo by ERIC BARADAT/AFP via Getty Images) | CNBC Television/YouTube/Screenshot)
WASHINGTON POST COLUMNIST RIPS MSNBC OVER ONLINE HARASSMENT SEGMENT: ‘YOU F--KED UP ROYALLY’
Lorenz feuds with ex-colleague over importance of her ‘brand’
Lorenz caused a stir earlier this year when she trashed The New York Times on her way out the door, saying the newspaper didn’t allow her to grow her personal "brand." She was quickly criticized by other Times reporters, including Maggie Haberman, resulting in a Twitter feud.
"Maggie, the attention economy is my entire beat, it’s what I cover, and you’re certainly an expert at leveraging it yourself. I hope you can recognize why more workers at the NYT and elsewhere are seeking more ownership of their work, opportunities for career growth and fair pay," Lorenz wrote in response to criticism from Haberman.
"Taylor, if you want to keep this going we can. But I think if you think you and I go about journalism similarly, that’s surprising to me," Haberman reacted. "I’ve been doing this for 26 years and have worked with and I believe everyone should have opportunities and the industry isn’t always equitable. Ask yourself if you’re describing my comments here as being broadly applicable or if they're really about one person."
Lorenz also tweeted, "The issue isn’t that NYT and legacy news orgs can’t build up people’s brands, they undeniably can and do. My issue has always been with *who* within legacy newsrooms gets the opportunity to wield the institutional megaphone and what sort of coverage they’re able to do."
Libs of TikTok shared a photo showing Washington Post journalist Taylor Lorenz allegedly at the doorstep of one of her relatives. (Libs of TikTok/Twitter) (Libs of TikTok/Twitter)
Lorenz freaks out over maskless crowds at SXSW: 'It’s super depressing'
Earlier this year, Lorenz blasted maskless crowds at SXSW (South by Southwest), the festival of music, art, and cultural events in Austin, Texas.
The liberal reporter tweeted, "Seeing everyone indoors totally unmasked and crowded together at panels, events, and parties at [SXSW] makes me sad, when will things be safe for those who are high risk and vulnerable to participate in events and conferences and events?"
The SXSW rules required attendees wear masks in some settings, particularly those that are indoors. It also mandated people be vaccinated or produce a negative COVID-19 test.
Lorenz went on to blast events that are "plow[ing] ahead" amid "thousands of deaths still happening," which leaves "high risk and disabled [people] still very much in harms way."
"[W]e should think [about] who gets left behind. Who is forced to miss out on networking, career advancement, and opportunities," she said. "Conferences are dumb, but they’re where so much networking and career advancement can happen, when they’re only safe for some it leaves the most vulnerable [people] behind and marginalizes them further."
She went on to say that "it's super depressing" to see large crowds at events where hardly anyone is masked.
Taylor Lorenz appeared to refer to the United States as a "trash country." (Photo by Jerod Harris/Getty Images)
Lorenz appears to call America a ‘trash country’ over health care system
The veteran journalist once appeared to refer to the United States as a "trash country" on an Instagram story.
Then-Free Beacon reporter Matthew Foldi tweeted an image of Lorenz’s Instagram story last December in which she was apparently answering questions from followers when someone asked why "COVID hasn’t woken new Americans up to fight for free healthcare," when the Gray Lady tech reporter bashed America with her response.
"Yeah if a global pandemic doesn’t help people in this trash country recognize the problems in our healthcare system idk what will," Lorenz wrote, according to the image shared by Foldi.
The comment’s 24-hour window on Instagram Stories appeared to expire shortly after Foldi shared the image. Lorenz did not immediately respond to a request for comment at the time.
Lorenz admits 'error' of claiming entrepreneur used 'r-slur'
Lorenz was forced to walk back a 2021 claim that entrepreneur Marc Andreessen used incendiary language after she was called out for falsely claiming the Silicon Valley investor used what she called the "r-slur" – referring to the word "retarded" – during a conversation on the audio-driven social media app Clubhouse.
"@pmarca just used openly using the r-slur on Clubhouse tonight and not one other person in the room called him on it or saying anything," Lorenz tweeted.
Andreessen's colleague Naithan Jones, who was moderating the chatroom in question, corrected Lorenz, explaining that another user, Felicia Horowitz, spoke about Redditors referring to themselves as "R-word revolution" but that Andressen himself "never used that word, ever."
She later issued a formal mea culpa.
"On Saturday, Ben Horowitz, a co-founder of Andreessen Horowitz, used a term during a public event on Clubhouse. I mistakenly attributed the use of this term to Marc Andreessen, his partner and a co-founder of Andreessen Horowitz. I regret the error and deleted the tweet," Lorenz wrote.
Admitting the error marked a drastic shift in tone from Lorenz after she was previously called out for the gaffe, with her initial tweets suggesting it only merited a clarification and deflecting her culpability by pivoting to a broader lesson that could be learned.
"I hope everyone who used this word can think more carefully about why people in the audience were upset," Lorenz tweeted before admitting she botched the quote.
Critics continued to pile on Lorenz after her admission, with some calling her out for not offering an apology.
NEW YORK TIMES' TAYLOR LORENZ SAYS SHE REGRETS 'ERROR' OF CLAIMING ENTREPRENEUR USED 'R-SLUR'
Lorenz mocked for claim 'online harassment' has 'destroyed my life'
Lorenz raised eyebrows in March while commemorating International Women's Day, suggesting on Twitter that she had been a victim of "online harassment".
"For international women’s day please consider supporting women enduring online harassment," Lorenz began a lengthy Twitter thread posted two months before she doxxed Libs of TikTok. "It’s not an exaggeration to say that the harassment and smear campaign I’ve had to endure over the past year has destroyed my life. No one should have to go through this."
She continued, "I’m slightly open [about] some of what I deal w/ but the scope of attacks has been unimaginable. There’s no escape. It has taken everything from me. The only mild solace I’ve found is w/ other women who have had their lives destroyed in the same way. We’ve developed deep trauma bonds."
Lorenz went on to promote a viral initiative called the "Coalition Against Online Violence," which claims on its website that "Women journalists face online violence simply for doing their job. These online attacks have very real consequences, both for the journalists themselves and for freedom of expression."
Critics panned the reporter for espousing her alleged "victimhood."
"Taylor Lorenz is a star reporter with the most influential newspaper in the US, arguably the west. Her work regularly appears on its front page," independent journalist Glenn Greenwald reacted. "Her attempt to claim this level of victimhood is revolting: she should try to find out what real persecution of journalists entails."
Entrepreneur files $6.2 million defamation suit against New York Times, Lorenz
Entrepreneur Ariadna Jacob, a former agent who represented TikTok stars and other online influencers, filed a $6.2 million lawsuit against The New York Times and Lorenz last year after she claimed a 2020 "hit job" article devastated her business.
The complaint alleged the Gray Lady published an August 2020 article that made "numerous false and disparaging statements of fact and concerning" Jacob and Influences that resulted in clients fleeing her company over claims she said are wildly inaccurate.
The Plaintiffs filed a motion to dismiss earlier this year but the court has not entered an order.
ENTREPRENEUR FILES $6.2 MILLION DEFAMATION SUIT AGAINST NEW YORK TIMES, STAR REPORTER TAYLOR LORENZ
Reaching out to minors
Lorenz has also been widely criticized for allegedly reaching out to teenagers without consent from their parents in order to cover social media influencers. The topic came up earlier this year on "Tucker Carlson Tonight" when The Federalist co-founder Sean Davis said she is "the journalism equivalent of the creeper creeping by the schoolyard asking the kids if they want any free attention".
Davis continued: "She stalks teenagers on the internet… this isn’t my opinion. She says as much and she even talks about how if she were a dude doing what she were doing, people would think it’s kind of creepy."
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Davis said that Lorenz "admits" to doing that and essentially "harasses kids and teenagers and gets them to say things so she can basically mine them in her clips."
The Washington Post did not immediately respond when asked about Lorenz’ true age. Fox News Digital also asked the Post if Lorenz had comment on claims she has contacted minors without consent, the defamation lawsuit and whether she feels it was hypocritical to reveal the identity of a private figure weeks after complaining about online harassment.
Fox News’ Joseph A. Wulfsohn, Charles Creitz and Hannah Grossman contributed to this report.
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