"Shut up or pay the price."
The Fake News Media will harass your family, sabotage your career, and subject you to the howling mob if you embarrass them.
There was a time when the news media held government and big corporations accountable. The Fourth Estate exposed corruption at the highest levels. The news media was never unbiased, but there have been many courageous journalists throughout history who have exposed the truth. That was before large swaths of the news media became the Fake News Media, and became enforcers for the Leftist cultural elite.
These days, the Fake News Media is stalking and doxxing private citizens who dare contradict the radical Left's narrative. They are harassing the the Left's critics, even going to their private homes and banging on their doors. They are even harassing the family members of critics at their homes, a tactic that is reminiscent of the Soviet Union punishing the family of dissidents. The most recent shameful example is when the Washington Post targeted a private citizen for destruction, because that private citizen dared run a Twitter account with a modest 800,000 followers.
Libs of TikTok started by re-uploading rants by Leftists about things like gender, sexuality, mental health and race. Simply posting clips from Leftist social media accounts garnered quite a bit of attention, including endorsements from public figures. Can LOTT be a bit shrill? Sure. But is the creator's identity really newsworthy? No, it is not.
This scandal reminds me of CNN stalking and blackmailing a hapless Reddit user, after that user made a silly meme that placed the CNN logo over the head of someone President Donald Trump clotheslined at a pro wrestling event a decade earlier. The meme was harmless, but CNN had a complete meltdown over it. It was a ridiculous overreaction.
As with CNN five years ago, the Washington Post and Taylor Lorenz have displayed obscene hypocrisy. Lorenz was openly weeping on television about how she has been harassed, and then goes out of her way to expose the identity of an anonymous Twitter user and subject her to harassment, stalking and death threats. The fact that Lorenz went to the woman's family exposes that this "investigation" was driven by someone who is vindictive and full of hate.
The message is clear: Shut up or you will pay the price. Leftists will harass your family, sabotage your career, and subject you to the howling mob if you embarrass them or cause them any problems. Sometimes, Leftists will seek out targets and falsely accuse them of "crimes" to stir up the mob against them - as the Fake News Media did in 2015 by fraudulently accusing Memories Pizza in Indiana of "discriminating" against same-sex weddings. Memories Pizza did not cater weddings, so they could not possibly "discriminate" in a service they did not provide.
This is how you got Donald Trump as President. Trump is a pulsating middle finger to the Leftist cultural elite and the mainstream news media. Republican voters chose Trump by a plurality over more qualified alternatives in 2016 because Trump "fights" the Left. Trump attacks everyone who dares cross him with no sense of proportion. Against that backdrop, Republican primary voters chose and then enthusiastically supported the candidate who is least restrained in "fighting" the Left.
This is not to say that Trump's childish and unprofessional behavior is acceptable or excusable. It is most certainly not. I have condemned his actions and rhetoric many times and I stand by that criticism. But the most important thing to understand about Trump is that he is the reaction to the radical Left's culture war. When the Fake News Media behaves like this, they are creating more support for Trump.
The thuggery of the Washington Post does not indicate strength or cultural power. It demonstrates weakness and desperation. The fact that a major legacy news media entity set out to personally destroy a private citizen for the crime of posting videos on Twitter shows that the Leftist Elite does not dominate the culture. Those in a strong position do not seek to expose the private information and blackmail private citizens into silence. As with all bullies, the Washington Post is run by impotent cowards and weaklings. They will lose.