Taylor Lorenz, who covers technology and online culture for The Washington Post, has once again found herself the subject of ridicule online.
On Monday, Lorenz again questioned the woman behind the Libs of TikTok account on Twitter, asking her for comment on a colleague’s story.
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
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. 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 wrote.
Lorenz’s deadline for comment was less than five hours away at the time she messaged Libs of TikTok. She followed up again before the deadline.
“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.
“Hey Tay, I know getting rejected must be really difficult. In some good news, Ross has a 55+ senior discount on Thursday so maybe that will make you feel better,” the Libs of TikTok founder shot back.
Lorenz’s exact age is unknown, with Wikipedia estimating her birth year somewhere between 1984-87 and several different newspapers stating different ages.
Libs of TikTok was briefly suspended from Twitter recently for “hateful conduct” after tweeting out recordings of employees at Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C., saying the hospital performs gender-affirming hysterectomies on 16-year-old girls. The hospital later said those employees were incorrect and it does not perform gender-affirming surgery on minors.
Police said a bomb threat called in to Boston Children’s Hospital after Libs of TikTok tweeted about the hospital’s gender program turned out to be a hoax.
In April, Lorenz wrote a controversial article for the Post revealing the identity of Chaya Raichik, the woman behind Libs of TikTok. Lorenz knocked on the doors of Raichik’s family members in the process of writing the story.
Initially, the Post story linked to Raichik’s real estate license, which showed her name, real estate license number, and possible physical address. The Post removed the link after being accused of doxxing Raichik.
Lorenz frequently complains about facing online harassment herself, even sobbing about her troubles during an MSNBC interview.
NEW: Taylor Lorenz says she has "severe PTSD" from being a journalist and breaks down in MSNBC interview pic.twitter.com/G9FymoSdH8
— Jon Levine (@LevineJonathan) April 1, 2022
On Monday, Lorenz skewered NBC News reporter Morgan Radford, who conducted the April segment on women journalists who are harassed online for their reporting.
“No bigger regret in my career than making the mistake of thinking @MorganRadford knew how to accurately report on abuse/harassment. Her complete mishandling of the story has led to immense fallout and months of abuse. I cannot warn women loudly enough to stay away from her/MSNBC,” Lorenz tweeted.
Lorenz added that women journalists should “NOT trust anyone in the media to tell your story or report on harassment accurately, especially TV news people. They do not care about u or getting it right.”