Taylor Lorenz, the Washington Post’s internet culture beat reporter, is being accused of “doxxing” the anonymous woman who operates the popular Twitter account “Libs of TikTok.”
Lorenz, the former New York Times journalist who earlier this month broke down in tears on MSNBC while recounting “harassment” she has experienced online, published an article on Tuesday revealing the identity of the social media user.
“Doxxing” is the term used to describe the act of posting the personal information of those who wish to remain anonymous.
Critics accused Lorenz of hypocrisy after it was claimed that she showed up at the home of the woman’s relatives to ask questions.
The “Libs of TikTok” account, which posts TikTok videos from liberals and has generated more than 662,500 followers, posted an image of Lorenz outside the home of one of her relatives.
“Which of my relatives did you enjoy harassing the most at their homes yesterday?” read the caption attached to the photo of a woman who bears Lorenz’s likeness.
Glenn Greenwald, the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, slammed Lorenz, tweeting: “The same people who – just 2 weeks ago – were insisting that criticizing Taylor Lorenz is wrong because it generates ‘harassment’ toward her are now cheering as she shows up at the homes of the relatives of Twitter users to dox them.”
Ben Shapiro, the conservative commentator and Daily Wire co-founder, tweeted: “Taylor Lorenz is a terrible journalist and worse human.”
Shapiro added: “Targeting a Twitter account that literally just posts Leftists owning themselves because that account damages the Left is pure Lorenz.”
Lorenz defended her decision to reveal the woman’s identity, tweeting: “Reporters make phone calls, send messages, show up places, and knock on doors when reporting out a story.”
Lorenz added: “I reported this story out extensively, using every tool I had, to ensure I had the correct woman.”
In response to criticism that she targeted a private citizen who wished to remain anonymous, Lorenz tweeted that the social media user “isn’t just some average woman with a social media account” but is instead a “powerful influencer operating a massively impactful right wing media shaping discourse around LGBTQ+ rights.”
In a segment that aired April 1 on MSNBC’s Meet the Press Daily, Lorenz revealed that online harassment targeting her and her family caused her to experience “severe PTSD” and contemplate suicide in the recent past.
MSNBC’s segment detailed how Fox News host Tucker Carlson ripped Lorenz in March 2021 for calling for an end to online harassment.
At the time, Lorenz, then a reporter for the New York Times, said she had endured a “smear campaign” that had “destroyed her life.”
The dustup kicked off in February 2021, when journalist Glenn Greenwald called her a “journalistic tattletale” after she incorrectly accused Silicon Valley investor Marc Andreessen of using the “R-word” — meaning “retard” — during a private discussion on the members-only Clubhouse app.
Researchers at New York University found tweets with harmful language directed at Lorenz spiked 144% after Greenwald posted the tweet.