Taylor Lorenz is at the center of another weird scandal. Senior editors at the Washington Post, where Lorenz works as a teen-focused misinformation columnist, are reviewing the journalist's conduct after she shared an image on social media labeling President Joe Biden a "war criminal [frowny face]."
Lorenz, 39, posted the image while attending a White House economic summit for digital influencers and online "creators." She initially implied the "war criminal" caption was fake after a New York Post journalist posted the image on X, formerly Twitter. "You people will fall for any dumbass edit someone makes," Lorenz replied. On Friday, the journalist claimed she never "denied it was real."
Many observers noted the absurd hypocrisy of Lorenz, who constantly warns about the dangers of so-called misinformation online, falsely accusing other journalists of spreading misinformation about her. "This is really bad," election guru Nate Silver wrote. "Not the anti-Biden message, which, whatever. But lying about it and trying to pass it off as misinformation."
At least four individuals have confirmed the image's authenticity, according to an NPR report, which described Lorenz as someone who has routinely "courted controversy" and "inspired mockery from conservatives." NPR reporter David Folkenflik also wrote that, despite labeling Biden a war criminal, Lorenz has "not been otherwise vocal about the Israel-Hamas conflict."
That claim is not supported by the facts. Lorenz has repeatedly criticized Biden's handling of the situation in Gaza, while defending pro-Hamas student protesters and dismissing "overblown allegations of antisemitism." She has also amplified anti-Semitic misinformation that inspired violent protests outside a Los Angeles synagogue in June, and defended Hamas terrorists in an interview with former CNN host Don Lemon, who suggested that many of the marginalized groups protesting the war in Gaza "would not have any freedom" under Hamas rule. "They don’t have any freedoms in Texas and Florida," Lorenz said. (Fact check: False.)
Lorenz was accusing Biden of genocide long before it was cool, according to a Washington Free Beacon review of her social media posts. Not for refusing to defend Hamas in Gaza, but for not doing enough to address the "ongoing pandemic" in the United States. Lorenz has denounced Biden as "complicit in mass death/disability" from COVID-19, thanks to his "extreme far right policies." She reported that "millions" of "disabled" individuals "were calling him Genocide Joe for pushing mass covid infection while dismantling all testing and saying basically that we would all die."
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• Taylor Lorenz Slams WaPo Colleague, Peddles Anti-Vax Conspiracy, Admits to Multiple Crimes