Apr 29 • 55M

Episode 112: How Our Assistant Producer Exposed Libs of TikTok

Plus: more on Chris Rufo and how journalists should cover him

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Journalists Katie Herzog and Jesse Singal scour the internet for its craziest, silliest, most sociopathic content, part of an obsessive and ill-conceived attempt to extract kernels of meaning and humanity from a landscape of endless raging dumpster fires.
The planetary symbols for Mars and Venus in cyan and magenta respectively, in homage of TikTok's logo. In the center is the text Libs of (italicized) and TikTok.

After Jesse and Katie talk about Chris Rufo and the latest surge of moral panic from journalists who hate journalism, Tracing Woodgrains takes us all deep inside a sophisticated conspiracy to hoax Libs of TikTok. To discuss this episode with other premium BARPod subscribers, click here.

Show notes/Links:

NYT profile: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/24/us/politics/christopher-rufo-crt-lgbtq-florida.html

People mad (thread):

Twitter avatar for @dkiesowDamon Kiesow @dkiesow
The NYT is our most important newsroom and it is also broken.
Another “both sides” amplification of far right hate dressed up as great political strategy.

April 24th 2022

998 Retweets
Twitter avatar for @soledadobrienSoledad O'Brien @soledadobrien
Good thread on a journalism fail:

Damon Kiesow @dkiesow

The NYT is our most important newsroom and it is also broken. https://t.co/2k41vjFWjn

April 25th 2022

258 Retweets
Twitter avatar for @Will_BunchWill Bunch @Will_Bunch
Why is the New York Times giving American fascist Christopher Rufo the "Hitler Home and Gardens" treatment?
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April 24th 2022

306 Retweets
Twitter avatar for @froomkinDan Froomkin/PressWatchers.org ☮️ @froomkin
This affectless article elevates and validates a sick, racist, homophobic son of a bitch without answering the only questions worth asking, chief among them what made him that way. He Fuels the Right’s Cultural Fires (and Spreads Them to Florida)Christopher Rufo helped make critical race theory a conservative rallying cry. Now he sees L.G.B.T.Q. issues as an even more potent line of attack.nytimes.com

April 24th 2022

109 Retweets

Rufo’s latest: https://www.city-journal.org/radical-gender-lessons-for-young-children

The documents: https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/21694116-evanston-prek-3rd?responsive=1&title=1

Trace’s explanation of how he and his furry buddies hoaxed Libs Of TikTok:

Blocked and Reported
How I Convinced Libs of TikTok to Publish a False Story
I have a confession. Those of you who pay altogether too much attention to the ins and outs of online drama may have seen a curious tweet from the account Libs of TikTok the other day…
Read more
4 months ago · TracingWoodgrains