Washington Post publishes identity of ‘Libs of TikTok’ creator
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The Washington Post's "internet culture" journalist Taylor Lorenz is under fire for falsely claiming she had reached out to YouTubers in her story about the explosive Johnny Depp-Amber Heard trial.
On Thursday, following the stunning conclusion of Depp's successful defamation lawsuit against his ex-wife, Lorenz alleged the real winners were "content creators" who benefited from the courtroom frenzy with larger followings and spikes in revenue.
"The trial offered a potential glimpse into our future media ecosystem, where content creators serve as the personalities breaking news to an increasing numbers of viewers — and, in turn, define the online narrative around major events. Those creators can also bring in major personal profits in the process," Lorenz told readers. "In this new landscape, every big news event becomes an opportunity to amass followers, money and clout. And the Depp-Heard trial showed how the creator-driven news ecosystem can influence public opinion based on platform incentives."
Her article cites two YouTube personalities, "LegalBytes" host Alyte Mazeika and an anonymous user named ThatUmbrellaGuy. Lorenz alleged that according to Business Insider, Mazeika "earned $5,000 in one week by pivoting the content on her YouTube channel to nonstop trial coverage and analysis." She also claimed that ThatUmbrellaGuy "earned up...
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