Taylor Lorenz (born 1984 or 1985[1]) is an American journalist and technology columnist who coversInternet culture. She has written forThe Washington Post,The New York Times,The Daily Beast,Business Insider, andThe Daily Mail. In 2023, she published a book calledExtremely Online: The Untold Story of Fame, Influence, and Power on the Internet. In 2024, Lorenz left theWashington Post following an internal investigation after Lorenz posted an image onInstagram labeling then-U.S. presidentJoe Biden as a "war criminal". Lorenz subsequently began publishing a newsletter calledUser Mag as well as apodcast calledPower User.
According toThe 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".[10]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 atThe Daily Beast andThe Atlantic.[1] 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".[11]Reason magazine credited her with popularizing the term "OK boomer" in a story declaring "the end of friendly generational relations".[12]
From 2019 to 2022, she was a technology reporter forThe New York Times.[22] According toTheWrap, "since her time at theTimes, she's attracted an inordinate amount of online criticism, particularly from those in theright-wing media".[23] While at theTimes, she broke the story that theBloomberg 2020 presidential campaign was paying Instagram meme accounts to post ads in the form of fake direct messages on the platform.[24][25]
In 2021, while working forThe New York Times, Lorenz posted on social media in support ofInternational Women's Day and discussed online harassment she had faced while urging others to support women going through similar experiences. Subsequently,Tucker Carlson criticized her in a segment discussing "powerful people claiming to be powerless" on his Fox News show, which led to further harassment.[26][27][28] Writing in theFirst Amendment Law Review, professor Lili Levi noted "that this kind of publicity is effectively a call to arms for further harassment by members of Carlson's audience."[29]The New York Times and theInternational Women's Media Foundation both issued statements in support of Lorenz that condemned the actions of Carlson, withThe New York Times stating, "Lorenz is a talented New York Times journalist doing timely and essential reporting. Journalists should be able to do their jobs without facing harassment", and calling Carlson's actions a "cruel and calculated tactic".[30][27][31]Both Fox News and Carlson would release statements defending Carlson's criticism of Lorenz, with Fox News stating, "No public figure or journalist is immune to legitimate criticism of their reporting, claims or journalistic tactics."[32][33]
2022–2024:The Washington Post
In March 2022, Lorenz left theTimes and joinedThe Washington Post as a technology and online culture columnist.[34][7] In April 2022, Lorenz wrote an article for thePost that publicized the identity ofChaya Raichik as the owner of thefar-right Twitter accountLibs of TikTok. The details were retrieved from early iterations of the account, as well as previous reporting.[35] Raichik argued that Lorenz haddoxxed her, though Lorenz countered that Raichik's identity had already been publicly available.[36][37] According toThe 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".[38] 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".[39] Lorenz later interviewed Raichik for an article in February 2024.[40]
In May 2022, Lorenz published a report in thePost about theJoe Biden administration "pausing" the newly createdDisinformation Governance Board within the Department of Homeland Security. Lorenz described a campaign ofonline harassment and highly critical coverage from right-wing media outlets toward the board's directorNina Jankowicz, who would resign from the post shortly afterward.[41] In the article, Lorenz argued that Jankowicz had been "set up to fail" by the administration, describing how Jankowicz had become the victim of attacks by online right-winginfluencers and conservative media personalities, including threats of physical violence.[42]
In June 2022, thePost published an article by Lorenz about online influencers covering theDepp v. Heard trial. The article stated twoYouTubers mentioned in the article were contacted for comment. ThePost later issued a correction, stating only one had been contacted.[43] The YouTuber has said the request for comment only came after the article was published.[44] In aTwitter thread reviewed by Lorenz's editors and management of thePost, Lorenz stated that the error was due to a miscommunication with her editor.[23][45]
In December 2022, Twitter ownerElon Musk temporarilysuspended Lorenz's Twitter account, with Musk tweeting that the suspension was for "prior doxxing action".[46] Lorenz said she was suspended after asking Musk for comment on a story. The suspension followed a series ofsuspensions of journalists underMusk's new ownership of Twitter.[47]
In coverage of the 2024 Democratic National Convention, Lorenz highlighted social media influencers credentialed by the DNC.[48]
In August 2024, thePost began an internal investigation for evidence of bias after Lorenz shared an image on a privateInstagram story depicting PresidentJoe Biden with the caption "war criminal :(", referencing a meme criticizing the president for hissupport ofIsrael in theGaza war.[28] Lorenz initially denied making the post, and later said that a friend created the captioned picture, which Lorenz shared. According toNPR, four people with direct knowledge of the post confirmed its authenticity.[49] Lorenz never published another article forThe Post, which did not announce any findings of its investigation. In October 2024, she announced she was leaving thePost to start her own newsletter viaSubstack.[50][28] Lorenz toldThe New Yorker that her decision to leave thePost was not a direct result of the incident[28] and that "every single President that I've ever seen in my lifetime is a war criminal".[51]
2024–present:User Mag
In October 2024, Lorenz announced she was leavingThe Washington Post to run aSubstack publication called "User Mag".[52] Substack co-founder Hamish McKenzie toldThe Hollywood Reporter that she is an "accomplished reporter with deep experience covering internet trends and culture" whom the platform thinks "will thrive ... with the direct support of her audience."[53]
In 2025, it was announced that Lorenz would also contribute a column toMehdi Hasan's Zeteo on the influence of Silicon Valley tech billionaires.[54]
Lorenz drew criticism, particularly from conservative politicians, for comments she made during a CNN interview in April 2025 following thekilling of health insurance CEO Brian Thompson, where Lorenz described the suspect in the caseLuigi Mangione as "morally good".[55] She later said, "To see these millionaire media pundits on TV clutching their pearls about someonestanning a murderer when this is the United States of America, as if we don't lionize criminals [and] stan murderers of all sorts, and we can give them Netflix shows".[55][56]
Other works
In October 2023, her bookExtremely Online: The Untold Story of Fame, Influence, and Power on the Internet was published bySimon & Schuster.[57] The book focused on various aspects ofinternet culture. Some platforms discussed in the book includemommy blogs,YouTube, andVine.[58]Lorenz discussed howinfluencers struggled tomonetize their content and how prominent women such asJulia Allison are often the targets of online harassment and misogyny.[59]
In February 2024, it was announced that Lorenz would be launching a podcast calledPower User in partnership withVox Media.[60] In December 2024,Semafor wrote an article which stated that her distribution partnership would not be renewed,[61] a claim that Lorenz denied, further clarifying that she retains full ownership of the show and is continuing to publish episodes independently.[62]
Lorenz has been the subject of online harassment, which multiple sources have described as coordinated or orchestrated.[63][64] According to theInternational Center for Journalists, such harassment often escalates following signals from political figures or media personalities. Commentators likeNina Jankowicz have characterized the abuse as indirectly incited through critical media coverage rather than explicit calls to action.[65]
Much of the harassment has originated from right-wing online spaces.[66][67]The Independent noted that "Lorenz is a regular target of attacks from the right online, with comments she makes frequently blowing up and feeding an arguably disingenuousoutrage culture, so much so that she has been called 'the most harassed technology journalist in America' and her career recommended for study to fellow reporters".[55] Lorenz has described the abuse as including graphic threats,doxing,stalking, andswatting, affecting both her and her family. Reports have highlighted that the tactics used against her reflect broader misogynistic patterns, both online and offline.[63][68][69][70]
Personal life
Lorenz described herself in interviews asvegan up until 2021,[71][72] later stating that she had added chicken and fish to her diet for health reasons.[73] She has said she isimmunocompromised in an interview for the Society of Professional Journalists' magazineQuill.[74]
Selected publications
Lorenz, Taylor (October 3, 2023).Extremely Online: The Untold Story of Fame, Influence, and Power on the Internet.Simon & Schuster.ISBN978-0-7535-6079-2.
^"Taylor Lorenz | The ATLAS Institute | University of Colorado Boulder".www.colorado.edu. RetrievedSeptember 1, 2025.In 2021, Business Insider named her on its list of the most influential technology reporters working today. Taylor attended the University of Colorado, Boulder as an undergraduate where she studied political science.
^Spike, Carlett (April 21, 2023)."10 with Taylor Lorenz".Quill (interview). Society of Professional Journalists.ISSN0033-6475.Archived from the original on November 15, 2023. RetrievedJuly 3, 2025.
External links
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