NBC News opinion piece defends Washington Post’s Taylor Lorenz amid doxxing controversy

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Washington Post publishes identity of ‘Libs of TikTok’ creator

Libs of TikTok creator discusses how WaPo reporter Taylor Lorenz published her identity and how it has impacted her and her family’s lives on ‘Tucker Carlson Tonight.’

NBC News was labeled "pathetic" for publishing a full-throated defense of Washington Post tech reporter Taylor Lorenz on Thursday that claimed it was acceptable to doxx the woman behind the popular Libs of TikTok Twitter account essentially because she expresses conservative views. 

"Cultural skirmishes are happening all the time on social media, but the establishment media seem to only be concerned when the harsh content goes in a particular direction," DePauw University professor and media critic Jeffrey McCall told Fox News Digital. 

TAYLOR LORENZ'S DOXXING OF CONSERVATIVE TWITTER USER ONLY HER LATEST CONTROVERSY

Washington Post columnist Taylor Lorenz revealed the previously anonymous woman’s name, occupation, religion and where in the country she lived. (MSNBC) (MSNBC)

"The broad question of anonymity for social media posters is relevant, of course, but the Washington Post and NBC seem uninterested in that matter when exposing the identity of a person they think ‘deserves’ it," McCall added. 

In a recent Washington Post story, Lorenz revealed the previously anonymous woman’s name, occupation, religion and where in the country she lived. The article even included a hyperlink that exposed personal information such as her work address – but Jeff Bezos’ newspaper later removed the link after being called out by critics. 

NBC News’ opinion piece, "There’s a proper term for what happened to the ‘Libs of TikTok’ creator. It’s not ‘doxxing,’" was written by Kara Alaimo, who is identified as a professor and writer who focuses on "social media issues that affect women."

Alaimo kicked off the piece by noting Lorenz "came under fire for revealing the identity of a woman who has been cowering behind her computer screen to share anti-LGBTQ content anonymously."

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Her "Think" piece then revealed the identity of Libs of TikTok, in the second sentence, immediately after dismissing criticism of Lorenz for doing the exact same thing. 

"There are many reasons it’s inappropriate to publicly expose a person’s private information — a practice known in internet parlance as ‘doxxing.’ But this isn’t one of them," Alaimo wrote. "Let me be clear: Doxxing can be dangerous — or even deadly."

Despite admitting doxxing can have deadly consequences, Alaimo then declared that the woman behind Libs of TikTok didn’t deserve to remain anonymous because it would allow her to spread "intolerance with impunity." She compared Libs of TikTok’s social media presence to Russian government accounts that use social media to "stoke racial tensions and promote domestic discord in the U.S. to weaken our country."

Libs of TikTok rose to prominence by sharing videos already publicly available on TikTok showing liberals espousing principles of the critical race theory ideology and embracing the broadening spectrums of sexual orientation and gender identity. Many of the people highlighted by Libs of TikTok claim to be teachers who shared their beliefs with students, which has drawn condemnation from the political right and has fueled the national education debate. 

Libs of TikTok shared a photo showing Washington Post journalist Taylor Lorenz allegedly at the doorstep of one of her relatives. (Libs of TikTok/Twitter) (Libs of TikTok/Twitter)

"Libs of TikTok was famous for reposting videos of teachers talking about how they try to influence school children. The videos spoke for themselves and already were public. The public outrage was from the videos themselves, not the commentary from Libs of TikTok," Cornel Law School professor William A. Jacobson told Fox News Digital. 

WASHINGTON POST'S TAYLOR LORENZ DOXXES LIBS OF TIKTOK DAYS AFTER DECRYING ONLINE HARASSMENT OF WOMEN

"The defense of unmasking the woman behind Libs of TikTok boils down to people not liking her politics, and phrasing what she was doing as anti-LGBTQ abuse. Yet that characterization is disputed and political," Jacobson continued. "The journalistic question for the Washington Post and Taylor Lorenz was whether the woman's name was essential to the story, and it wasn't … The only reason in this specific instance to name the woman was to subject her to attack and to try to intimidate her into stopping. That appears to have backfired, but it was the purpose and WaPo should just admit what it was trying to do."

Alaimo’s NBC piece referred to Libs of TikTok’ postings as "hateful content" without informing readers that it simply reposts videos that were uploaded to the internet by the same liberals who star in them. 

"Lorenz should be praised, not pilloried, for her strong investigative reporting," Alaimo wrote, noting that many feel Lorenz is a "hypocrite" because she recently cried in a widely panned MSNBC segment while complaining about being a victim of online harassment herself.

Alaimo insisted Lorenz is not a hypocrite, despite overwhelming evidence, because Libs of TikTok has exhibited "bad behavior" that needed to be exposed. 

"Lorenz’s story is no different from any other political exposé that holds the people shaping public policy up to public scrutiny," Alaimo wrote of the account that repurposes TikTok videos. 

Washington Post reporter Taylor Lorenz has been confronted with accusations of hypocrisy as her story doxxing Libs of TikTok came just weeks after she sat down with MSNBC about online harassment she has experienced, sharing violent threats she had received and claiming she suffers from "severe PTSD" and had contemplated suicide.  ( (Photo by Eric BARADAT / AFP) (Photo by ERIC BARADAT/AFP via Getty Images) | CNBC Television/YouTube/Screenshot)

McCall feels that anyone "entering the rough and tumble social media world should understand the risks," even if they think they can remain anonymous.

"Nobody is guaranteed anonymity if they are posting in the public sphere," McCall said. "But media outlets that reveal identities of social media posters should clearly explain their practices and that explanation needs to be clearer than, ‘We approve certain content, but not other content.’"

NewsBusters managing editor Curtis Houck feels NBC News’ opinion piece is simply the latest example of widespread bias against conservatives. 

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"NBC's pathetic defense of Lorenz serves as yet another reminder that, when it comes to basic rights such as the First Amendment and privacy, too many in the liberal media act as though and believe those things only apply to them," Houck told Fox News Digital. 

"On doxxing alone, Lorenz's defenders have made clear that, no matter who you are or whether you're a private citizen, the press can and will search, harass, and destroy both you and your family members for the simple ‘crime’ of holding political views or inoffensive views about life that they disagree with," Houck continued. "These rules of engagement are both dangerous and frightening for both sides as I fear we'll see more of this in the future and a tit-for-tat that serves no one."

Fox News’ Joseph A. Wulfsohn contributed to this report.