CNN’s Oliver Darcy, Brian Stelter Call Out Taylor Lorenz’s Reaction to Coverage of WaPo’s Correction
Photo by Sara Kenigsberg. Via Washington Post.
Washington Post journalist Taylor Lorenz addressed the recent controversy that one of her articles falsely stated she had reached out for two influencers for comment for a story about content creators who covered the Johnny Depp-Amber Heard trial, placing the blame on a “miscommunication.”
In a lengthy Twitter thread — which is no longer publicly visible due to Lorenz making her account private — she wrote that “an incorrect line was added to a story of mine before publishing due to a miscommunication with an editor.”
In a series of tweets, Lorenz blames her editor for having inserted the error into her story and says she is the victim of a “bad faith” campaign. pic.twitter.com/VmH7mejgXP
— Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) June 4, 2022
“I did not write the line and was not aware it was inserted. I asked for it to be removed right after the story went live.”
Shortly after publication, the Post added a correction saying a previous version “omitted or inaccurately described” her requests for comment.
An editor’s note now reads that ThatUmbrellaGuy had not been contacted before publication and Alyte Mazeika was reached out to via Instagram.
“After the story was published, The Post continued to seek comment from Mazeika via social media and queried ThatUmbrellaGuy for the first time,” the editor’s note reads. “During that process, The Post removed the incorrect statement from the story but did not note its removal, a violation of our corrections policy. The story has been updated to note that Mazeika declined to comment for this story and ThatUmbrellaGuy could not be reached for comment.”
In her thread, Lorenz wrote that the two individuals were “not remotely the focus of my story” and lamented that “it’s become a huge distraction.”
“This should have been a small correction for a miscommunication, but it was turned into a multi-day media cycle, intentionally aimed at discrediting the Washington Post and me,” she said.
Lorenz added later in the thread that she is “extremely happy” at the Post, and argued bad actors are exploiting the publication’s “earnest desire to hear and incorporate feedback.”
She also hit CNN senior media reporter Oliver Darcy for his coverage of the controversy, including his Twitter thread that includes the tweet embedded above.
“No, actually,” she responded. “This type of coverage is so irresponsible & dangerous. It’s misrepresenting my words to amplify a manufactured outrage campaign by right wing media & radicalized influencers, which is driving a vicious harassment/smear campaign against me. CNN is gleefully piling on”
Lorenz’s reaction then prompted Brian Stelter, CNN’s chief media correspondent, to jump in to defend Darcy.
“What [Darcy] is doing is standard reporting,” Stelter said. “He sent legitimate questions to the Post and the Post responded. Scrutiny by fellow journalists is not the same as a smear campaign by crusaders.”
What @oliverdarcy is doing is standard reporting. He sent legitimate questions to the Post and the Post responded. Scrutiny by fellow journalists is not the same as a smear campaign by crusaders.
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) June 4, 2022
