Taylor Lorenz has announced her departure from The Washington Post, citing the need to focus on new opportunities following the viral impact of her coverage on President Biden.
She is a renowned American journalist who also hosts a podcast for Vox Media called Power User.
Highlights
- Taylor Lorenz is a well-known news reporter, now a founder of the Substack publication “User Mag.”
- She left the Washinton Post after making a bizarre comment on Joe Biden.
- Lorenz and Nate Silver are currently having a controversial debate online.
Moreover, Lorenz is a founder of the Substack publication “User Mag” and was previously a columnist for The Washington Post, a technology reporter for The New York Times, and The Daily Beast.
She is recognized for particularly covering Internet culture and in 2023, she published a book called Extremely Online: The Untold Story of Fame, Influence, and Power on the Internet.
Also, Lorenz served as a social media editor for the Daily Mail from 2011 to 2014, putting it ahead of social media.
Taylor Lorenz Leaves Washington Post After Viral Instagram Post Sparks Backlash
Taylor Lorenz, 39, has parted ways with “The Washington Post” amid controversy since her post went viral on Instagram during a White House event.
A tag with the phrase “War Criminal” accompanied by a frowny face captioned her selfie taken against the voice of President Joe Biden.
HOLY SHLIT. Taylor Lorenz claimed the picture of her calling Biden a “war criminal” was edited. Turns out it’s NOT edited and NPR obtained the actual post and got confirmation from 4 different people that it’s real.
You can’t make this up pic.twitter.com/bAFPZzPtAi
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) August 16, 2024
After initially denying the post’s authenticity, Lorenz eventually conceded she had shared it, calling it an “obvious meme.”
The controversy was followed by weeks of speculation about her status at “The Post”, as she had not published any work since August.
On October 1, 2024, the newspaper confirmed she was leaving to pursue independent journalism.
Moreover, the journalist explained that working in legacy media had become increasingly difficult for her style of reporting.
Many reacted by saying,
She’s denying it’s real, but she has a long history of lying about things like this — and it came to me from someone reliable. So take it as you will.
Taylor Lorenz And Nate Silver Clash Over Media Ecosystems And The Joe Rogan Effect
The 2024 U.S. presidential election has prompted a heated argument between mathematician Nate Silver and journalist Taylor Lorenz about the impact of media ecosystems on political success.
Moreover, Lorenz believes that Democrats are bad at creating cultural influencers like Joe Rogan because of a lack of structural support and ideological alignment with billionaires.
I’ll do a Substack Live with @TaylorLorenz if she discloses which date she was born on. pic.twitter.com/RK7g0iA3B0
— Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) November 23, 2024
Writing in her Substack, the former news reporter has underlined how donors and algorithms subsidize conservative media, while progressive creators have to rely on crowdfunding, which limits their reach.
Furthermore, she criticizes Democratic leadership for silencing independent progressive voices.
The debate escalated when Silver made personal remarks about Lorenz’s age and professionalism, which he later deleted, acknowledging they were inappropriate.
Many supported her saying,
What public interest is served by knowing her birthdate?Why should people who aren’t deranged stalkers care one way or the other?
Additional Information
- Taylor Lorenz’s net worth is estimated at around $1 million as of 2024.
- She got engaged to the award winner author of “Arriving Today,” Christopher Mims in 2015.
- Lorenz hails from a wealthy family and is the child of a developer named Walter R. Lorenz.
