The Washington Post has found itself embroiled in several dramas involving several of its reporters.
Personal grievances spilled over onto Twitter and then some, resulting in the suspension of Dave Weigel for his retweet of an off-color joke. Still, the drama spurred by the Post’s Felicia Sonmez and her own grievances has overshadowed yet more questionable reporting by technology reporter Taylor Lorenz.
The Post was forced to issue multiple corrections to a story written by Lorenz and engaged in some questionable stealth edits. These centered on a published claim that Lorenz had reached out to two subjects of her story. The subjects are YouTube influencers whom she labeled “Pro Johnny Depp” on the heels of the much-publicized defamation trial between Depp and his ex-wife Amber Heard. Journalists like Lorenz had used the trial to wedge in the topic of harassment and abuse and the #MeToo movement.
As it turns out, however, Lorenz did not attempt to gain a comment or response, despite the Post’s original story claiming the opposite. Two YouTubers, “LegalBytes” host Alyte Mazeika and an anonymous user named ThatUmbrellaGuy, claimed that at no point did Lorenz or any other reporter from the Post reach out for comment. ThatUmbrellaGuy posted an email from Lorenz on his Twitter feed in which Lorenz asks for comment after the story was published, contradicting the 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,” Mazeika posted on her Twitter account.
Lorenz directed blame at her editors for what she called a “miscommunication,” lashing out at CNN media reporter Oliver Darcy as well. So after several corrections, here is what happened, according to the timeline.
Lorenz published that she had reached out for comment to subjects of a story that was tinged with negative connotations. The subjects of her story proved that she had not, in fact, reached out for comment. The Post was forced to issue multiple corrections. Lorenz herself did not retract her claim but publicly blamed her editors and her usual go-to excuse of a right-wing misinformation and harassment campaign.
But the key point is this: Either Lorenz or her editors engaged in direct fabrication or a willful disregard for journalistic standards.
The broader challenge is that those who run the Post have decided that Lorenz, and her continued shoddy reporting and broad generalizations, are worth the headache. Why they have decided as much is anyone’s guess. But as Lorenz continues to stretch the boundaries of ethical journalism, her Post colleagues will be the ones who share in the reputational damage. If Lorenz is inserting minor fabrications into her stories, then one has to wonder what else she might be fabricating. Earlier this year, when Lorenz revealed the identity of the LibsofTikTok Twitter account, an Instagram user with the same name faced a barrage of online harassment, and Lorenz was forced to issue a decree on her own Instagram and Twitter accounts. Lorenz has made unfounded accusations of harassment in the past as well.
The Post just doesn’t seem to care.
Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) has written for National Review, the New York Post, and Fox News and hosts the Versus Media podcast.
