According to The Caret, Lorenz's reporting frequently concerns "
Silicon Valley venture capitalists, marketers and ... anyone curious about how the internet is shaping the ways in which humans express themselves and communicate".[20]Fortune named her to its "
40 Under 40" list in 2020, saying that she has "cemented herself as a peerless authority" whose name became "synonymous with youth culture online" during her time at The Daily Beast and The Atlantic.[5] The same year, Adweek included her on its list of "Young Influentials Who Are Shaping Media, Marketing and Tech", saying that she "contextualizes the internet as we live it".[21]Reason magazine credited her with popularizing the term "
OK boomer" in a story declaring "the end of friendly generational relations".[22] According to TheWrap, "since her time at the Times, she's attracted an inordinate amount of online criticism, particularly from those in the right-wing media".[23]
The Washington Post
In March 2022, Lorenz left the Times and joined The Washington Post as a columnist.[7][24] Her book Extremely Online: The Untold Story of Fame, Power and Influence on the Internet was published by
Simon & Schuster in October 2023.[25]
In April 2022, Lorenz wrote an article for the Post that publicized the identity of Chaya Raichik as the owner of the
right-wing Twitter account
Libs of TikTok. The details were retrieved from early iterations of the account.[26] An online version of the article initially included a link to Raichik's real-estate license.[27][28] The article led Lorenz to be accused of doxxing[29] and hypocrisy for having previously spoken out against
online harassment.[30][31][32][33][34] Raichik said Lorenz doxxed her and violated her right to
free speech.[33][35] According to The Times of London, "supporters of Lorenz meanwhile pointed out that Raichik's followers were only too enthusiastic about doxing when it came to teachers being smeared as paedophiles".[36] In a tweet, Lorenz said that her "whole family was doxed again this morning ... trolls have now moved on to doxing and stalking any random friends I've tagged on Instagram".[37] Lorenz interviewed Raichik for an article about Libs of TikTok in February 2024.[38]
In June 2022, the Post published an article by Lorenz about the coverage of the Depp v. Heard trial by
YouTube personalities; the article incorrectly said that two YouTubers discussed in the article had been contacted for comment. Editorial corrections were made, including an admission that
stealth editing had violated the paper's policy.[39] Lorenz said in a tweet that the errors were due to a miscommunication with her editor, leading her to be accused of
buck passing, though the tweet was reportedly discussed and agreed on by Lorenz and multiple editors.[23][40][41][42] Lorenz was reportedly moved from the features staff to the technology team and Post senior managing editor Cameron Barr was "asked to review her articles before publication".[41] Lorenz denied that she had moved teams, writing on Twitter, "I have absolutely not been demoted, not even remotely. My job has not changed at all."[23] She added that news coverage of the errors by
CNN and others was in "bad faith", "irresponsible and dangerous", and designed to "amplify a manufactured outrage campaign by right wing media & radicalized influencers, which is driving a vicious harassment/smear campaign against me".[40]
Twitter owner
Elon Musk temporarily suspended Lorenz's Twitter account in December 2022. The suspension followed a series of
suspensions of journalists under
Musk's new ownership of Twitter.[43] Lorenz said she was suspended after asking Musk for comment on a story.[43] Musk tweeted that the suspension was for "prior doxxing action".[44]
Lorenz, Taylor (October 3, 2023), Extremely Online: The Untold Story of Fame, Influence, and Power on the Internet,
Simon & Schuster,
ISBN9780753560792
Notes
^
abcAccording to Politico, Lorenz's birthday is October 21.[2] In February 2016,
CBS News said that she was 30;[3] in August 2018, prior to her employment with the newspaper, The New York Times said that her age was 31;[4] and in September 2020, Fortune listed her age as 35.[5]