Chaya Raichik: Libs of TikTok Founder’s Naming Causes Controversy

Chaya Raichik was named by The Washington Post reporter Taylor Lorenz as the creator of the popular and controversial Libs of TikTok Twitter page, but the story is causing controversy among conservatives who are accusing Lorenz of doxxing Raichik.

Heavy has decided to use Raichik’s name because it’s already widely in the public domain at this point. The Libs of TikTok Twitter page has created many viral trends by posting videos that often deal with outing teachers relating to LGBTQ issues in schools and the like. The site shares the videos and words of others.

The Post was not the first to identify Raichik, but its story gave the issue far wider play. Some prominent conservatives have criticized Lorenz for revealing Raichik’s name. Seth Dillon, CEO of the conservative satire site Babylon Bee, tweeted, “The exposure of @libsoftiktok isn’t journalism; it’s pure intimidation. They’re threatened by her effectiveness, so they hope to silence her by making her too afraid to continue. They want to raise the cost of doing her work so high that she has no choice but to quit.”

Conservative commentator Ben Shapiro wrote, “The Taylor Lorenz article is so wildly dishonest. She mischaracterizes nearly everything deliberately. A few examples will suffice.”

In a statement, the Post wrote, “Taylor Lorenz is an accomplished and diligent journalist whose reporting methods comport entirely with The Washington Post’s professional standards. Chaya Raichik, in her management of the Libs of TikTok Twitter account and in media interviews, has had significant impact on public discourse and her identity had become public knowledge on social media. We did not publish or link to any details about her personal life.”

However, the Libs of TikTok page tweeted in response, “LIES. They included a link with personal information which they later removed because they knew what they were doing was abhorrent.” The page also tweeted, “She literally showed up at my family members’ homes. The lack of self awareness is incredible.” The page shared a tweet in which Lorenz complained about doxxing.

Here’s what you need to know:

Libs of TikTok Tweeted, ‘I’m Currently Holed Up in a Safe Location’

Libs of TikTok has tweeted about the controversy, writing, “Words cannot express how appreciative I am of the support I’m receiving right now. Thankfully I’m currently holed up in a safe location. I’m confident we will get through this and come out even stronger. Grateful for all the thoughts and prayers ❤️”

The page also tweeted, “They think doxxing me is going to intimidate me into silence. I can assure you, that’s never going to happen.”

The page also tweeted, “Lots of people have been asking how they can support me. I started a substack & will be posting some exclusive content for subscribers there. It’s the best way to lend support and stay connected if I get banned from social media. I will never be silenced!”

The page also shared a video of Lorenz, writing, “In a recent TikTok, Taylor Lorenz explains why it’s bad to engage in a doxxing campaign of an individual and shares her horror at media revealing a full name without getting comment. Incredible.”

The page describes itself as, “Bringing you news you won’t see anywhere else. All videos belong to their respective owners.” It has more than 674,000 followers on Twitter.

Libs of TikTok also pushed back at a “fake tweet,” writing, “.@theserfstv just deleted this fake tweet that they spread after my lawyers mentioned legal action. Other big leftwing accounts (@RightWingCope) deleted as well. How telling that they have to use fake tweets to discredit me. They have nothing else because I use their own words.”

Online records show there is only one Chaya Raichik in the country. Heavy is choosing not to give Raichik’s exact location, other than that Raichik is in her 30s and lives in New York State.

The Post Claimed the Page Was Promoted ‘by a Slew’ of ‘Right-Wing News Sites

In its story by Lorenz, the Post described a video posted by Libs of TikTok as “a video of a woman teaching sex education to children in Kentucky,” calling her a “predator.” According to the Post, the next day, Fox News’ host Laura Ingraham did a segment on the video, calling public schools “essentially grooming centers for gender identity radicals.”

The Post said the woman behind the page had appeared anonymously on Tucker Carlson’s show to “complain about being temporarily suspended” from TikTok.

According to the Post story, the page has been promoted by “a slew of other right-wing news sites,” from the Federalist to Post Millennial and was promoted by Joe Rogan.

The New York Post described the site as priding itself “on exposing far left hypocrisy and liberal “wokeness” on steroids.”

The Post described the page’s content this way:

With biting zingers and snappy captions, the feed posts alarming videos pulled directly from the ‘unhinged’ sources: TikTok accounts of, say, a college professor accused of soft-pedaling pedophilia — or a middle school teacher gleefully threatening to “throw a child at you.” Maybe even an English teacher steering students to pledge their allegiance to a gay pride banner after secretly stowing the American flag.

However, non conservative news sites have also amplified and reported on videos first pushed by Libs of TikTok. For example, the Washington Post wrote about a professor who resigned after controversy ignited over his research into “minor-attracted people.” Heavy has also written stories on videos sent viral by Libs of TikTok.

“The role I’ve seen this account playing is finding new characters for right-wing propaganda,” said Gillian Branstetter, a media strategist for the ACLU, to the Post. “It’s relying on the endless stream of content from TikTok and the Internet to cast any individual trans person as a new villain in their story.”

The Post claimed Raichik previously used the handle @shaya69830552, where she “minimized Covid, cast doubt on the election results and promoted a dubious story about a child sex trafficking ring,” later becoming @shaya_ray and writing about topics like voter fraud. The Post also claimed that she posted that she was in Washington D.C. on January 6, 2021, during the Stop the Steal Rally that led to violence at the U.S. Capitol.

According to the Post, she also once used a page called @houseplantpotus, “pretending to tweet as if she was a houseplant living with President Biden.”

The Post noted that a software developer named Travis Brown first “unearthed the account’s Twitter history and posted a thread detailing information about its profile changes.”

Raichik Has Worked as a Real Estate Agent

According to online records, Raichik has worked as a real estate agent. Heavy is not naming the exact company. Online records show she has also worked as an Amazon department manager. The Washington Post also reported that Raichik had worked in New York’s real estate industry.

Raichik’s LinkedIn page has been deleted.

There is an Instagram and TikTok page in the name of Chaya Raichik, but the woman who runs those posted to her Instagram story that she’s not the Libs of TikTok creator.

“I am not on Twitter. I don’t have an account. I’ve never had an account,” she wrote. “I am not associated or affiliated with any accounts on Twitter. There are many, many Chaya Raichik’s. Please leave me alone!”

Lorenz Has Fired Back at Critics on Twitter

Lorenz has fired back at some of her critics on Twitter, writing, “I had heard that Babylon Bee had recently provided financial backing for @libsoftiktok but didn’t have enough confirmation on the details to nail it down for my story. Seth Dillon, CEO of the Babylon Bee has now confirmed it.”

Dillon responded on Twitter, “The Babylon Bee didn’t do a deal with her. The Bee is a satire publication. You know, like the Washington Post. I did a deal with her personally. Also, I want to thank you for amplifying the voices you try to suppress. Your promotion of @libsoftiktok. today has been priceless.”

Lorenz tweeted, “.@LibsofTikTok has become a powerful cross-platform social media influencer, spreading anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment and fueling the right wing media’s outrage machine. I wrote abt the account, the woman behind it, and why it matters 🧵”

Lorenz has also received support online. Alyssa Bereznak, a reporter with The Ringer, tweeted, “The more outlets like fox news rely on anonymous online accounts to proliferate damaging disinfo, the more crucial it is that journalists identify the people behind those accounts. conflating that work with privacy concerns is a disservice to democracy.”

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