Leer en Español
ON MONDAY afternoon, September 12, the popular conservative Twitter account Libs of TikTok made a complete fool of The Washington Post tech reporter Taylor Lorenz in a private response that ended up going viral.
Lorenz wrote a private message to Libs of TikTok explaining that they would be publishing a critical piece in the WaPo against those “influencers” who have allegedly pushed violence and misinformation on social media.
Lorenz’s verbatim message to the Twitter account made clear the type of content the Washington Post would publish against Libs of TikTok:
“Hi Chaya, a colleague of mine is publishing a big story on influencers who spread narratives about election fraud in 2020, exploring what happened to their megaphones after Trump was de-platformed. You are not one of these influencers, but your account has received extensive promotion from them,” reads Taylor Lorenz’s message.
It adds: “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? The piece is running tomorrow morning, so please send through a response to the above questions by 5pm PST. Thanks!”
Why is she obsessed with me? @TaylorLorenz, I don’t want to date you pic.twitter.com/YivZhCxDBS
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) September 12, 2022
Far from souring on Lorenz’s message, Libs of TikTok account administrator decided to use her sense of humor to embarrass the WaPo reporter with a phrase that made waves on social media: “I’m sorry but I can’t date you. I’m straight.”
Instead of understanding the refusal to comment for a story that was already fully intended to be an attack, Lorenz insisted on soliciting comments from Libs of TikTok, which continued to pull humor to respond to the WaPo reporter: “Hey Tay, I know getting rejected must be really difficult. In some good news, Ross has a 55+ senior discount on Tuesdays so maybe that will make you feel better.”
The private conversation went viral through the conservative account, which posted a tweet tagging Taylor Lorenz and uploading the screenshots, “Why is she obsessed with me? @TaylorLorenz, I don’t want to date you.”
Users rushed to massively support Libs of TikTok
The account’s tweet simply went viral, with more than 30,000 likes and thousands of retweets. It was also filled with ironic comments and criticism of Taylor Lorenz, who continues to make national news for her Libs of TikTok-related controversies and not for her journalistic work.
Lauren Chen, a contributor to Turning Point USA, posted a response ironically quoting Lorenz: “Hi, we’re about to run a piece accusing you of encouraging domestic terrorism, do you have any comment? Thanks!”
"Hi, we're about to run a piece accusing you of encouraging domestic terrorism, do you have any comment? Thanks!"
— Lauren Chen (@TheLaurenChen) September 12, 2022
Jeremy Redfern, deputy press secretary for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, also responded with a tongue-in-cheek quote criticizing Taylor Lorenz’s message request, “We are going to blame you for the alleged actions of other, even if we don’t have any evidence that these actions happened. Do you have a comment?”
“We are going to blame you for the alleged actions of other, even if we don’t have any evidence that these actions happened. Do you have a comment?”
— Jeremy Redfern (@JeremyRedfernFL) September 12, 2022
“She clearly wants to ask you out,” wrote conservative influencer Ian Miles Cheong.
She clearly wants to ask you out.
— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) September 12, 2022
Other users simply criticized Taylor Lorenz and her style of “journalism.” One of them was writer Ewan MacKenna, who said the WaPo reporter is “the most sorry representation of what journalism became.”
Emmanuel Alejandro Rondón is a journalist at El American specializing in the areas of American politics and media analysis // Emmanuel Alejandro Rondón es periodista de El American especializado en las áreas de política americana y análisis de medios de comunicación.
Contacto: [email protected]