The Washington Post’s Taylor Lorenz recently came under fire for posting a selfie on Instagram with US President Joe Biden in the background and the caption “War criminal 🙁.”
The post is widely believed to be a reference to President Biden’s support for Israel during its ongoing war against Hamas in Gaza.
For many, this might appear to be Taylor Lorenz’s first questionable social media post regarding Israel and the war in Gaza, with WaPo vowing to look into it and NPR describing the technology reporter as having “not been otherwise vocal about the Israel-Hamas conflict.”
However, this is far from the truth.
“Lorenz has not been otherwise vocal about the Israel-Hamas conflict.” @taylorlorenz’s articles ignore campus antisemitism, she reposted accounts who excused violence against Jews, and she spreads debunked libels about famine.
Oh! And journalists in Gaza operate under the… https://t.co/8Oq82oyvpz pic.twitter.com/a8oSUDicKN
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) August 16, 2024
Throughout the current Israel-Hamas war, Taylor Lorenz has posted on her personal X (formerly Twitter) account a variety of questionable statements about the conflict, veering into anti-Israel disinformation, whitewashing of Palestinian terrorism, and conspiracy theories.
Some of the posts include:
- Describing Palestinian journalists in Gaza as “more legitimate than most [people] on cable news” even though a significant number of Gaza-based journalists have been found to have ties to Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and other proscribed Palestinian terror organizations.
- In an effort to whitewash the anti-Israel campus protests that sprang up across the United States in spring 2024, Lorenz claimed that “there’s no evidence” that any of the student protesters had said “Death to America.” A simple Google search would have provided this esteemed journalist with evidence proving otherwise.
- The re-sharing of a post on X that justified an anti-Israel riot that took place outside a Los Angeles synagogue in June 2024.
- The spread of debunked claims about an imminent famine in Gaza.
- Defending Briahna Joy Gray’s claim that the media should be looking into absurd claims that Israel trained dogs to rape Palestinian prisoners.
Much as @TaylorLorenz would like to pretend this is true, there is no legitimate journalist who is reporting this. “It’s been a major topic of discussion on X all day” because this app is a cesspool of antisemitic conspiracy theories, you idiot. pic.twitter.com/tMc5mwGh19
— Melissa Weiss (@melissaeweiss) June 25, 2024
Does This Matter?
Does it matter that Taylor Lorenz has spent her spare time spreading disinformation and conspiracy theories about the Jewish state?
After all, Lorenz is a technology reporter and is entitled to her personal opinions.
However, there are two reasons why we should be concerned about the recent tumult surrounding her post referring to Biden as a war criminal.
First, if The Washington Post takes seriously what its journalists post on social media, as is evidenced by their declared investigation into this latest Instagram post, why has it allowed Lorenz to spread disinformation and falsehoods without any response until now?
Second, although Lorenz writes primarily about technology and online culture, her work does occasionally intersect with matters relating to Israel and the war in Gaza.
Between October 7 and today, Lorenz has written several articles that touch on the Israel-Hamas conflict, including articles about discussions of the conflict on TikTok, pro-Israel apps, pro-Palestinian social media users, and “Gen Z influencers” who have turned against Biden due to his support for Israel.
Is a reporter who condones riots outside synagogues, promotes conspiracy theories about Israel-trained dogs, and whitewashes both anti-Israel protesters and terror-affiliated Gazan journalists someone who The Washington Post wants representing their brand online or reporting on Israel-related matters?
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