‘The Washington Post LIED’ – Opinion

Notorious doxxer and Washington Post “internet culture” columnist Taylor Lorenz was called out for reporting falsehoods Friday by two YouTube influencers who Lorenz mentioned in a hit piece about them. Lorenz claimed she reached out to the pair for comment—which according to them is simply not true.

Lorenz was reporting “that content creators” were the winners in the explosive Johnny Depp-Amber Heard trial that ended this week in what most people consider a huge win for Depp. Lorenz claimed that by following the trial on their viral YouTube channels, influencers “LegalBytes” host Alyte Mazeika and an anonymous user called ThatUmbrellaGuy made tens of thousands of dollars. Then Lorenz made what seemed like an innocuous claim: “Mazeika and ThatUmbrellaGuy did not respond to requests for comment.”

The influencers soon pointed out that she hadn’t actually asked for comments. That means Lorenz’s statement is completely at odds with reality, or she’s a fabulist who imagines events that did not occur. ThatUmbrellaGuy was clear in her assertion that she had lied.

The Washington Post LIE and DIDN’T CONTACT ME before including my story about Johnny Depp in their article, even though they reported that they had done so.

This was something I noticed on Twitter at 8:31 p.m.

After I publicly reported this, they called me at 9:44p. ( pic.twitter.com/gkGt0WuMKZ

— ThatUmbrellaGuy (@ThatUmbrella) June 3, 2022

Mazeika was a witness to a similar story.

Um. This says I didn’t respond to requests to comment? I know I’ve gotten a lot of emails over the past two months, but I’ve just double checked for your name, @TaylorLorenz, and I see no email from you. Also, I didn’t suddenly pivot. Before trial even began, I had already begun covering it.

Secretly, The Post scrubbed Lorenz’s lies after Lorenz was exposed. When asked by Fox News whether Lorenz herself or an editor made the stealth edit, a spokesperson for the Post replied, “That’s not something we’d discuss on the record.”

Nice. Right? Democracy is destroyed by darkness. The Post did later in the day issue a printed correction—but only after Fox News called them on it.

Lorenz also implied there was something sinister about the YouTubing pair, writing: ” As more people turn to online creators for information, misinformation flourishes and the trial could provide a playbook for anyone looking to leverage the creator economy for their own gain.”

“Misinformation flourishes.” Let that sink in.

It gets worse. The Post issued a statement later in the day. another correctionThis is the time to make good on the previous mistake. Lorenz incorrectly misattributed an interview to Johnny Depp’s lawyer.

EDITOR’S NOTE

Incorrectly, the first publication of this story claimed that ThatUmbrellaGuy & Alyte Mazeika were contacted to comment on the article before it was published. In reality, Mazeika was the only one who was contacted via Instagram. The Post sought comment from Mazeika on the story via social media, and then queried ThatUmbrellaGuy the first time. The Post corrected the error in the story, but didn’t note it. Updated to indicate that Mazeika did not comment on the story. ThatUmbrellaGuy was unable to be reached.

In an earlier version, this story misattributed a quote from Adam Waldman to Johnny Depp’s lawyer. It described his interaction with Internet influencers. The quote has now been removed.

Correcting the error. This is embarrassing.

Is it really important that she did something wrong? Yes. If they were just able to conjure up facts and make up things, most reporters would want a job. Ask Jayson Blair or Brian Williams.

Also, this isn’t a one-off. Lorenz is an abominable person, who has broken the rules of ethics and honesty in many instances. We need to start somewhere. For one, she had an “obsession” with Kellyanne Conway’s then 15-year-old daughter and direct messaged her without first contacting her parents. Tucker Carlson’s criticisms of her made her cry, and she even said she has severe PTSD due to the constant harassment she is subjected to for her work. She didxxed Tucker Carlson, the comedian’s creator, just weeks later. Libs of TikTokThe account was used to harass the creator, her family, and other users with the same name. She then made up lies about it. Lorenz’s hypocrisy knows no bounds.

You can find many more examples of her criminal behavior. But that’s just one example. Now that she’s caught with at least two outright falsehoods in one story, do you think she’ll show some humility? Not a chance. It’s the fault of conservatives, obviously. “I’m sure the right wing media and cable news world is spinning something up,” she tweetedFriday as a response to this controversy

Taylor, it’s true, your right wing said you were lying.

The Washington Post is now a dumpster fire. Once one of the great papers in the land, it’s now stooped to employing a dishonest, vicious journalist who repeatedly violates basic standards of a) decency and b) journalism. False information was a serious offense for journalists at respected media outlets.

Not in today’s world. Lorenz continues to slip through ethical errors, but I suspect that the Post will continue to provide cover.