On a sunny Wednesday afternoon at the Aroma cafe in Studio City, Los Angeles, two internet forces sat down for an hour-long discussion.
On one side was Chaya Raichik, a former real estate agent behind the 2.9 million follower X account LibsofTikTok, which regularly posts anti-LGBTQ+ content. The account has described schools as “government-run indoctrination camps” for the LGBTQ+ community. It also falsely claimed that the Uvalde school shooter was transgender and shared a doctored video of a drag performer exposing themselves to children.
On the other side was Taylor Lorenz, a Washington Post reporter and matriarch of the digital culture beat. Lorenz has consistently covered Raichik since April 2022, when she exposed her as the person behind the LibsofTikTok account. Raichik claimed that she had been “doxxed” in the story, which led to Lorenz getting briefly suspended on X. Over the ensuing years, Raichik would call Lorenz a “crybully” and “hypocrite.” She also leaked their X messages.
The LibsofTikTok interview took place because Taylor Lorenz was working on a new Washington Post story that discusses Raichik’s recent appointment to Oklahoma’s state agency advisory committee. After multiple attempts to get a comment over DMs, Lorenz told Passionfruit that Raichik agreed to speak, but only in person for just five minutes.
Raichik arrived wearing a t-shirt with an image of Lorenz crying in an MSNBC interview. She also brought a box of masks to mock that the reporter wears them in public. Another man came with Raichik to film the interview. Afterward, Lorenz asked for the footage, which she said the man airdropped to her phone.
“I thought I was going to try and get her for as long as I can since I have a bunch of questions,” Lorenz told Passionfruit…
