The big lie about the Libs of TikTok Twitter account
No, it doesn't just "post other people's videos unedited."
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Yesterday, the Washington Post published a story about Libs of TikTok by internet boogeywoman Taylor Lorenz. For those lucky enough to be unfamiliar with the account, it’s exactly what it sounds like: videos from “libs” (liberals, Democrats, anyone to the left of Mitt Romney) that were found on TikTok. The account has amassed a pretty huge following in the past several months (including a number of really high profile politicians and media figures) and has gotten favorably profiled in a number of right-wing media outlets (Fox News’ Tucker Carlson Tonight, the New York Post, etc.).
It’s hard to argue that LoTT isn’t influential or newsworthy as it’s been one of the driving forces in mainstreaming some of the anti-LGBTQ “groomer” nonsense.
Still, until Lorenz’s piece came out, the account was anonymous. Mostly, anyway. If you’re not up to speed on what it’s all about, here’s Media Matters:
The Washington Post confirmed that Chaya Raichik is behind formerly anonymous ‘Libs of TikTok.’ The influential anti-LGBTQ account has has been trademarked as a “news reporter service” by a Republican operative, although the Washington Post notes that “Raichik has claimed to run the account alone.” The account regularly targets LGBTQ individuals and their allies for harassment from its more than 640,000 Twitter followers while serving as a veritable wire service for Fox News and the rest of the right-wing media to push anti-LGBTQ smears.
While the right has misleadingly decried the reporting on Raichik by Washington Post columnist Taylor Lorenz, who heavily cited Media Matters, as “doxxing” and harassment, her Libs of TikTok account has revealed the names and locations of teachers, LGBTQ people, and others on the left, and promoted a dangerous lie about “grooming” that has resulted in harassment, threats, and lost livelihoods for private individuals
There are a number of legitimate arguments one could make for why LoTT should have been left anonymous, but there’s one that keeps coming up that’s simply dishonest.
Ben Shapiro describes LoTT as an account that “literally just posts Leftists owning themselves.” And he’s not alone in using that line:
But we all know that isn’t exactly true. Is it, Ben? Let’s look at one the of many examples that disprove the “just posting liberals’ posts from TikTok!” argument.
“WATCH: At a recent school board meeting, it was revealed that a Michigan school placed a [sic] LITTER BOXES in the bathroom for students that identify as cats. Unbelievable,” reads a January 21 tweet from the account.
Wow! Okay, then. Let’s… watch the video. Here’s the transcript:
The agenda that is being pushed through our schools is — just my opinion — but, somewhat nefarious when it comes to some of the activities. So let’s talk about furries. It was addressed by a child a couple months ago that they are put in an environment where there are kids that identify as a furry — a cat or a dog, or whatever. And yesterday I heard that at least one of our schools in our town has, in one of the unisex bathrooms, a litter box, for the kids that identify as cats. And I am really disturbed by that. And I will do some more investigation on that. I know it’s going on nationwide. I know it is. It’s part of the agenda that’s being pushed. I don’t even want to understand it, but I think that people need to be aware of it because I am really upset as a parent that my child is put in an environment like that. And I’m all for creativity and imagination, but when someone lives in a fantasy world and expects other people to go along with it, I have a problem with that. So I am just putting that out there. I will investigate more.
Does the video "reveal “that a Michigan school placed a [sic] LITTER BOXES in the bathroom for students that identify as cats?” No. It does not. The person who was speaking in the video was a parent who showed up at a school board meeting and started ranting about a goofy rumor she probably saw on Facebook.
Naturally, in the next tweet, LoTT decided to tell people where they can direct their anger:
Right there, the “just posting content from libs” argument goes out the window. LoTT tweeted an update days later: “The superintendent is claiming that it’s not true,” and added a shrug emoji. “Note: ‘No board members responded to the claim on the day of the meeting,’” LoTT continued. “Why wouldn’t they dispel the rumor right away if it was false?”
So even in sharing information refuting the claim, LoTT kept trying to conspiracy-monger. As for the question of why the board wouldn’t immediately speak up, it’s almost certain that the school board simply didn’t know what on earth she was talking about. She said “one of our schools,” so any teachers or principals at the meeting might have thought to themselves, “Well, it’s not happening in our school, but I don’t know what other schools are doing.” My guess, in all honesty, is that people probably say all sorts of wild stuff during those meetings and the board members just let people vent their conspiracy theories until the time runs out.
Because I am a true glutton for punishment, I decided to watch the entire 1-hour and 28-minute meeting, which happened on December 20, 2021. Here’s a rundown of the speakers:
A woman who thinks there needs to be more focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion programs.
A man who was upset that the Department of Justice declared parents domestic terrorists. (This is false.)
A woman who argued a bit about how COVID policies were unconstitutional.
Another man who was upset about the school’s COVID policies.
A man who announced that he was going to run for the school board he was addressing.
A woman who said a lot of vague stuff about the school libraries having books that were too racy for her high school-aged son. (This was the book she was upset about.)
In short, I basically watched the equivalent of one of the “Citizens of Pawnee” segments of a Parks & Rec episode. If you watch any of the above clips, the board members mostly sat there stone-faced while parents talked at them in 3-minute bursts.
Following the LoTT post, this false rumor spread around the country. As you can see from the PolitiFact source list, Michigan, Iowa, Nebraska, Texas, and Wisconsin have all had versions of this rumor that have gone viral following LoTT’s post.