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Libs of TikTok is a Twitter account created by Chaya Raichik which primarily reposts left-wing and LGBT-related videos from TikTok in order to mock them. It has become influential among conservatives.

Background

Though previously unknown, Chaya Raichik was exposed as the account's creator by software developer Travis Brown in April 2022. Raichik, a real estate agent from Brooklyn, created the account in November 2020. Originally a personal account with the handle @shaya69830552 and later @shaya_ray and @ChayaRaichik, Raichik used it to downplay the severity of COVID-19, and promote the conspiracy theory that the 2020 United States presidential election was stolen from Donald Trump through election fraud. She was present at the 2021 United States Capitol attack, later claiming that the event was "very peaceful" in comparison to Black Lives Matter protests. She then changed her handle to @cuomomustgo, focusing on demanding the resignation of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and also promoting the attempted recall of California Governor Gavin Newsom. By March 2021 she had changed the handle to @houseplantpotus, tweeting as a houseplant in the White House of President Joe Biden. After this parody account failed to gain much traction, the account finally became @libsoftiktok in April 2021. Four months later, Joe Rogan began promoting the account on his podcast The Joe Rogan Experience, leading to large increase in followers.

Raichik claims to run the account alone and said she doesn't do it for "money or fame". She said she moved from New York to California to turn the account into her full-time job. Libs of TikTok has expanded to other mainstream platforms such as Instagram and YouTube, as well as right-wing alternatives such as Rumble, Gab, and Gettr. For a short period of time, it had its own TikTok account, but that account was suspended for violating TikTok's community guidelines.

Conservatives expressed outrage at the exposure of Raichik as the account owner, accusing The Washington Post reporter Taylor Lorenz of doxxing.

Content

Libs of TikTok has largely focused on homophobic and transphobic content, escalating this in 2022. It has stated that teaching children about LGBT identities was "abusive" and that teachers who come out to their students should be fired. It encouraged followers to contact schools that allowed transgender students to use the bathroom of their identified gender and promoted the conspiracy theory that schools were putting litter boxes in bathrooms for students that identified as cats. It has claimed that being gender non-conforming is a mental illness and "delusions", and deliberately misgendered trans people. It was using the "groomer" epithet aimed at LGBT people before it was popularized by Christina Pushaw, press secretary for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, in the wake of the controversial Florida House Bill 1557, known as the Don't Say Gay bill.

The account has also railed against critical race theory supposedly being taught in schools and mask mandates for children during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The account was temporarily suspended on April 13 for violating its policy against hateful conduct. Raichik took the ban as proof she is "doing something right and making a difference", and accused Twitter of "caving to the mob".

Impact

The account has been retweeted by numerous Republican politicians and featured in conservative news outlets such as the New York Post, The Federalist, The Post Millennial, The Ingraham Angle, Jesse Watters Primetime, and Tucker Carlson Tonight. In their segments regarding Libs of TikTok content, Watters' accused left-wing university professors of attempting to normalize pedophilia, while Carlson encouraged viewers to storm schools and "thrash" teachers. In speaking on the Don't Say Gay bill, Christina Pushaw credited the account for "opening her eyes" on LGBT education.

Prior to being exposed, Raichik was interviewed anonymously on several occasions, during which she boasted that the account has gotten several teachers fired, and encouraged followers to take over school boards in order to remove LGBT teachers.

Ari Drennen, the LGBTQ program director for media watchdog group Media Matters for America, stated that "Libs of TikTok is basically acting as a wire service for the broader right-wing media ecosystem", and adding that "it feels like they're single-handedly taking us back a decade in terms of the public discourse around LGBTQ rights". Gillian Branstetter, a media strategist for the American Civil Liberties Union, said the account is "finding new characters for right-wing propaganda", "turning neighbor against neighbor", and casting transgender people as villains.

References

1. Bain, Ellissa (April 19, 2022). "Who is 'Libs of TikTok' and why is she trending this week?". HITC. Archived from the original on April 19, 2022. Retrieved April 19, 2022.
2. Higgins, Emily (April 19, 2022). "Chaya Raichik - Verified Handles". Verified Handles. Archived from the original on April 19, 2022. Retrieved April 19, 2022.
3. ^ Goforth, Claire (April 18, 2022). "Libs of TikTok—the influential, mystery Twitter account hailed by mainstream conservatives—attended Jan. 6 Capitol protest". Daily Dot. Archived from the original on April 19, 2022. Retrieved April 19, 2022.
4. ^ Lorenz, Taylor (April 19, 2022). "Meet the woman behind Libs of TikTok, secretly fueling the right's outrage machine". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on April 19, 2022. Retrieved April 19, 2022.
5. Skolnik, Jon (April 19, 2022). "On Twitter, "Libs of TikTok" stokes culture wars outrage". Salon.
6. ^ Bouza, Kat (April 19, 2022). "Taylor Lorenz Wrote About Libs Of TikTok — and Conservatives Won't Shut Up About It". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on April 19, 2022. Retrieved April 19, 2022.
7. Peltz, Madeline (April 5, 2022). "Viral Twitter account "Libs of TikTok" calls for all openly LGBTQ teachers to be fired". Media Matters for America. Archived from the original on April 14, 2022. Retrieved April 19, 2022.
8. Gogarty, Kayla (April 14, 2022). "Anti-LGBTQ Twitter account "Libs of TikTok" seemingly inspired attacks from Florida governor's press secretary". Media Matters for America. Archived from the original on April 14, 2022. Retrieved April 19, 2022.
9. ^ Lawton, Sophie (April 1, 2022). "Fox News is using the "Libs of TikTok" Twitter account like a wire service for anti-LGBTQ attacks". Media Matters for America. Archived from the original on April 15, 2022. Retrieved April 19, 2022.
10. "Twitter suspends conservative 'Libs of Tik Tok' account for 12 hours over 'hateful conduct': report". Fox News. April 14, 2022. Archived from the original on April 16, 2022. Retrieved April 19, 2022.
11. Creitz, Charles (April 15, 2022). "Libs of Tik Tok responds to second Twitter suspension hours after reinstatement: 'The left feels threatened'". Fox News. Archived from the original on April 16, 2022. Retrieved April 19, 2022.

• Twitter accounts
• Conservatism in the United States
• Anti-LGBT sentiment
• Living people