Libs of TikTok has been much in the news recently after a column by the Washington Post’s Taylor Lorenz and a suspension by Twitter. Lorenz was on CNN’s “Reliable Sources” on which Brian Stelter praises her writing and said that “I can’t wait to see what you’re working on next.”
However, it was one of the key justifications for the piece that stood out in the interview. Lorenz said that Washington Post targeted the host because she might be a foreigner. Since the Russian collusion stories, the media has been whipping up a fear of how “foreigners” are secretly influencing our society, politics, and culture. It increasingly seems like “They might be foreigners” is now the rallying cry for the left to justify every excess.
The Post column ran around the same time that Twitter moved against the Libs of TikTok. The suspension was particularly bizarre because the site was accused of “hateful conduct” due to its re-posting of liberals talking about themselves. Notably, there are many sites that watch and repost videos of evangelical ministers and conservative figures for use on liberal sites. That includes “Right Wing Watch” run by the liberal People for the American Way.
Lorenz came under attack for joining liberal groups like Media Matters in targeting Libs of TikTok. Both Lorenz and these other groups admit that they went after the site because it was having an impact in the debate over alleged radical agendas in schools.
Many on the right objected that Lorenz just appeared on national television in an emotional interview on how “horrifying” and unfair it was to be targeted in the media. That led to critics objecting to her pursuit of the host of this site and publishing details on her work and identity:
Lorenz’s view is that the site is now so influential, the identity of the founder was legitimate news. However, the piece had classic elements of a hit job, particularly given the collateral actions taken by groups like Media Matters and Twitter.
Lorenz and the Washington Post joined in the characterization of the site as engaged in hate speech for re-posting views of these teachers. Lorenz told CNN that this is “an LGBTQ hate account that’s the whole goal is to get trans and LGBTQ people sort of excluded from public life and drive these very harmful narratives around trans people.”
However, Lorenz insisted that she and the Post were concerned that those damn foreigner might be behind the site:
“Well, it wasn’t — I would say it’s equally important describing the power that this account has,” she said. “I think it’s rare to see an account gain so much prominence so quickly and be shaping these narratives in such an effective way, especially against trans people. So, I was — I mean, my story was kind of long, but I really wanted to make the case like why this account mattered. And I think it’s incredibly important, you know, as someone that covers the influencer industry to know who is exerting influence in this way. I mean, for all we knew, this could have been a foreign actor, right, or someone — we just didn’t know.”
Of course, she obviously learned that there were not foreigner actors behind the site but still did the hit piece. However, the question is why it would have matter if the host was someone in another country who had the same objections to such alleged radical agendas in schools.
There is a growing xenophobic element to such reporting that harkens back to far right groups in the 1950s. It is particularly striking in someone who covers “influencers,” a group of people on social media that is notably transnational in scope. Social media has erased national borders with many of the most influential figures coming from outside of the country. Likewise, many political movements are transnational with NGOs and civil liberties groups working across borders.
Notably, the Oxford English Dictionary says that “xenophobia” first appeared in a London weekly in 1909 when German and Italian archaeologists did not like the views of a French historian and geographer that contradicted their own conclusions on ancient Rome. They attacked the viewpoints of Paul Frédéric Gauckler on the basis that he was a foreigner.
The Washington Post itself has denounced such xenophobic “fear-mongering” arguments, though tying it to the right and Trump.
Notably, Stelter (who has been a voice for censorship to combat disinformation) did not ask why the Post did not look into possible foreigners lurking behind other influential sites from the left. He simply accepted the old saw that “they might be foreigners” to justify targeting a conservative site as if Lorenz just happened to light upon Libs of TikTok.
Lorenz was unchallenged in explaining:
“You know, attention whether it’s YouTube account or Instagram or TikTok or Twitter, and I think we need to, you know, take a step back and make sure we know who we’re getting our news from, make sure that things are framed correctly and not just buy into things that, you know, feed into our — the point of views that we already have, if that makes sense.”
It might make a little more “sense” if the Post targets sites with equal vigor on the left to see if there were any foreigners hiding in the shadows trying to “frame” our discussions or “feed into our …point of views.” Once again, however, the focus on the nationality of such influencers raises serious questions over the suspicion or vilification of influencers because they are not Americans. We live in a global marketplace of ideas and, yes, influences. Indeed, this blog often comments on attacks on free speech or other rights in foreign countries. Indeed, many LGBT advocates (including critics of Libs of TikToc) are foreign citizens but their views are not diminished by their nationality.
There was another interesting part of the interview when Lorenz attacked the host for deleting tweets:
“you know, case in point, this woman deleted thousands of tweets the day my article came out because she realized that she was going to be under increased scrutiny and that she could get — that people are really going to start looking at her account.”
Lorenz has been accused of locking her account to prevent access in the past. Most recently, there was a controversy that thousands of old tweets by Lorenz have been removed from the archives accessible by the WayBack Machine (though there is no response on whether Lorenz requested such removal).
Here is the interview:
There are foreigners crossing the southern border, what will they once they are in the country?
You never know. Those Pod People sure are sneaky…
They lie with such impunity!
Ms. Lorenz is truly an evil person. She uses her role as a “reporter” to :viciously and maliciously attacks anyone deviating from her leftist ideology and does so without apology regardless of the consequences to the intended target.. And she does this to ordinary citizens, not just the political elite. She then hysterically goes on TV to shed crocodile tears and plays the victim when challenged. Lorenz would have been a loyal soldier to any of the totalitarian regimes of the 20th Century and fits right in with the collaborators of Stalin, Mao, Castro, and the like.
First Lorenz goes on TV to shed crocodile tears about being doxxed.
Then she and WaPo doxxed the owner of Libs of TikTok (who is now in hiding because of the ensuing harassment).
This is like watching “Groundhog Day” for the fifth time.
It’s like watching Groundhog Day for the fifth time and then discovering that Bill Murray is a total dick in real life.
Lorenz is a real piece of work. Speaking of foreigners, tiktok is a Chinese PLA (People’s Liberation Army) owned company who is using tiktok to spy on every aspect of it’s users lives and everything the device the app is on comes in contact with. And that’s before we get to its purposeful use as a medium for undermining our historical social mores and cultural values.
Bravo! Someone who understands where Ticktok emanates from — Chinese Communist Party — and no one is denying that’s the truth!
Taylor Lorenz is a nut job a hit person, an attack DOG going after anyone who criticizes the left, woke, social justice, Biden, DEMs and etc.She and Washington Post should be held liable for their actions. You hit them in the pocket book and they don’t like that when it cost them $$$$$
Lorenz comes from an uber-wealthy family, a girl of great privilege — she’s ventured into the media WAY above her head, and should be wearing Kevlar considering how crazy this world has become.
Could say the same about Tucker Carlson.
Tucker Carlson is a leader
Lorenz is a follower.
I guess, with the mind you were provided, leaders and followers look alike.
Lorenz’s employer, WaPoo, owned by Jeff Bezos, one of the world’s richest men, has in the past frequently published an advertising supplement called “China Watch”. China Watch, in turn, is published by China Daily, which is reportedly owned by the Chinese Communist Party. WaPoo has claimed to have no editorial input in the content it publishes as the China Watch advertising supplement.
Obviously, WaPoo has no principled or ethical objections to foreigners influencing Americans. It just wants to be paid by foreigners for providing access to Americans (especially, it seems, to policymakers in the nation’s cesspit).
WaPoo is ok with foreigners seeking to influence Americans provided the foreigners are willing to pay Bezos for providing them the access.
Cant be using the Rules for Radicals… agianst “The Radicals” can we?
Making them abide by their own rules
Cant lose sight of the facts. All that was happening, consists of illuminating exactly what the leftists are saying and advocating. In their own words.
The result. The left is hiding from their own agenda. Instead of broadcasting how important their agenda is to the whole of the masses, they instead hide in the shawdows hoping their work goes unnoticed.
I guess all agree on the same thing. The agenda being pushed goes against the desire of the people.
Libs of TikTok had less than 500K followers before Taylor’s nasty hit piece. Today the account is approaching 1 Million followers.
Taylor has ~ 308K, Brian Stelter has ~ 798K. CNN and WaPo should be worried, but when they are funded by billionaires, they become arrogant and detached from ordinary people, aka Democrats
Libs of TikTok
@libsoftiktok
676 Following
960.1K Followers
Brian Stelter
@brianstelter
7,356 Following
797.1K Followers
Taylor Lorenz
@TaylorLorenz
7,558 Following
307.9K Followers
Look, we are already divided into two opposing camps on just about everything except whether the sky is blue (and you will find contrarians who will dispute this at some faculty lounge somewhere) so why worry about what this twit is trying to sell as an excuse. Those on the left will call it gospel, those on the right will know it is a lie and anyone who has still not chosen a side should be checked for brain function. I know I am getting to the point of apathy in discussing what obnoxiousness is lately emanating from the left and will tend, like many adults, to shut out the “noise” and turn my attention to a good book or project rather than rehash this stuff everyday. Let’s be honest, the next move, to save this nation, will NOT involve talk, but action of many sorts.
Action ….which may also entail acquiring sufficient Kevlar and similar protective gear in case things get out of control.
In response to Alma: Anonymous the Stupid says that Turley is wrong in a 200 word insane rant and JeffSilberman says it is because of Fox and Trump that the Libs of TT say such crazy things.
“Since the Russian collusion stories, the media has been whipping up a fear of how “foreigners” are secretly influencing our society, politics, and culture. It increasingly seems like “They might be foreigners” is now the rallying cry for the left to justify every excess.”
************************************
The Left is monstrously decrepit and circling the drain. With Twitter taking Elon’s offer and the impending midterms, that circling will get a lot faster.
People employed in glass office buildings shouldn’t throw stones – Jeff Bezos and The Washington Post have taken a lot of money from the official Chinese Newspaper, and run their stories as-written.
Well I suppose we are foreigners. We live in this unknown land that starts just west of Philadelphia and Washington D.C. and extends to the distant west and ends about midway through Washington state and Oregon and the eastern border of California. This wilderness also encompasses most of the area in the southeast. There are some large city states located in that unknown area surrounded by abject wilderness. Locations like Chicago, St Louis, Houston, Austin, Denver where the bright light of progressivism provides a beacon for the lessor beings to gravitate towards, like moths to a flame. Otherwise all is desolation, darkness, inhabited by trolls, morlocks, dragons and other unseemly vermin, otherwise known as knuckle dragging conservatives. No right thinking progressive would venture into such a wasteland. You could lose your soul. Sic.
I’m almost laughing out loud. I wrote a piece after the 2020 election which arithmetically showed Biden’s roughly 7 million vote margin of victory came from only two or three geographical areas: Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens boroughs of New York City; and roughly 5 million vote margin in the state of California, with a little bonus thrown in from Chicago, and Massachusetts. Those vast regions which the coastal elite call the ‘fly over states’ are the lion’s share of America.
GEB: thanks for posting your comment –
She got a taste of what she does to others and oh poor me they gave me PTSD. What hypocritical weenies. Imagine they find it offensive viewing their video’s can they imagine what we feel?
Damn foreigners!
Yeah like people from New York. They talk goofy. 33rd and 3rd streets are spoken: “Turdy turd and a turd “.
Hilarious. Still laughng.
The main foreign power behind manipulating US politics has been the UK. Halper, Mifsud, Christopher Steele—only a fool could think that UK government and intel agencies were not fully aware, approved, and probably encouraged if not instigated their actions in 2016-17. But our intrepid fearless media don’t care because the UK was serving the correct side
Ms Lorenz is a disingenuous manipulator.
And the lefties, in their partisan dishonesty, love it.
I am not a fan of doxxing but Lorenz and her family should be given the exact same treatment she gave the creator of Libs of Tik Tok
It might more a little more “sense” if the Post targets sites with equal vigor on the left to see if there were any foreigners hiding in the shadows trying to “frame” our discussions or “feed into our …point of views.”
It would also make more sense if she opposed immigration.