Taylor Lorenz, a tech columnist for The Washington Post, announced her resignation Tuesday, Oct. 1, to launch her own newsletter on Substack. Her departure follows an internal review related to a controversial social media post in which she labeled President Joe Biden a “war criminal.”
After a New York Post reporter first highlighted her photo, Lorenz initially claimed it was a digital forgery. However, NPR confirmed the authenticity of the image posted on her account.
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Lorenz announced her departure in a YouTube video, where she discussed her future plans and criticized legacy media.
“Today I’m announcing I’m leaving legacy media to launch my own new publication on Substack called User Magazine,” Lorenz said. “Under User Mag, I’ll be pursuing the type of reporting on the internet that has become increasingly difficult to do in corporate media.”
Lorenz has a lengthy resume with major publications, as well as a history of controversy. With previous stints at The New York Times and the Daily Beast, she has faced backlash, including criticism for revealing the identity of the social media persona “Libs of TikTok.”
In 2022, she cried on MSNBC while discussing the online harassment she had experienced, while some accused her of creating harassment against subjects of her stories.
Her reporting has also led to legal challenges, including a defamation lawsuit from a businesswoman over claims regarding leaked nude images. Additionally, Lorenz accused tech mogul Marc Andreessen of using a derogatory term, which was later proven false.
She has not published anything for The Washington Post since Aug. 7 due to the internal investigation into her post.
A spokesperson for the paper released a statement following her resignation:
“We are grateful for the work Taylor has produced at The Washington Post,” the statement read. “She has resigned to pursue a career in independent journalism, and we wish her the best.”
