LoTT

Molly Butler / Media Matters

TIMELINE: The impact of Libs of TikTok told through the educators, health care providers, librarians, LGBTQ people, and institutions that have been harassed and violently threatened

Harassment and threats of violence against at least 35 institutions, events, or individuals have followed incitement from the social media account

Written by Alyssa Tirrell & Kayla Gogarty

Research contributions from Mia Gingerich, Sophie Lawton, Carly Evans & Ari Drennen

Published

Updated

Update (last updated 2/6/24): This article has been updated with additional examples.

The account Libs of TikTok directs the anti-LGBTQ outrage of a large audience toward individual people and institutions, authoring posts that are regularly followed by harassment and threats of violence. 

Bomb threats to hospitals and harassment against hospital staff have followed the account’s posts to social media. A similar relationship is apparent in a series of bomb threats, death threats, and harassment efforts against schools, libraries, and educators. The account has also seemingly inspired violent protests and threats to Pride events, drag shows, and drag queen story hours. Media Matters documented 27 institutions, events, and individuals who reported threats after being targeted by Libs of TikTok, and 8 who reported harassment — a total of at least 35 instances of threats or harassment.

Here’s a timeline of threats and harassment seemingly sparked by Libs of TikTok’s posts, as well as some background on the account and the right-wing websites that help to amplify its hate.

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  • Libs of TikTok directs the anti-LGBTQ outrage of a large audience toward individual people and institutions

  • LoTT has been linked to backlash against hospitals and medical providers.

    A Human Rights Campaign December 2022 report on the link between online harassment and offline violence named LoTT as one of the accounts responsible for a “campaign of hate against hospitals and medical providers who offer gender-affirming care." The report found that “24 different hospitals and providers, across 21 states, … were directly attacked online following harassing, inflammatory and misleading posts,” some authored by LoTT. [Human Rights Campaign, 12/8/22] 

  • LoTT has scrutinized schools and educators, with some experiencing backlash.

    In the first four months of 2022, LoTT targeted over 200 individual teachers, schools, and districts. A Media Matters review of the Twitter/X account found that LoTT tagged or named at least 222 schools, education organizations, or school system employees within the first four months of 2022, often directing users to harass an individual school district or teacher. [Media Matters, 4/28/22] 

  • The founder of LoTT has made false and inflammatory claims about LGBTQ people.

    In the interview on Fox Nation’s Tucker Carlson Today where she first revealed her identity, Chaya Raichik claimed that LGBTQ people are a “cult,” adding, “They’re just evil people. And they want to groom kids. They’re recruiting.” The following month, in another interview in the media tour prompted by her identity reveal, Raichik referred to trans women as “cheaper” and “knockoff versions” of cis women. [Media Matters, 1/18/23; The Daily Beast, 3/28/23]

  • Raichik has said she sees herself “as a journalist,” but she has promoted hoaxes and doctored footage.

    In one such instance, LoTT shared doctored video of an all-ages drag event to suggest a performer in a nude illusion (“layers of clothing designed to look like a naked person,” per LGBTQ Nation) had appeared in front of children. The University of South Dakota, whose LGBTQ student group had hosted the show, received an email claiming that bombs had been placed on the campus and threatening to harm potential survivors of the detonation. [Media Matters, 1/18/23; LGBTQ Nation, 12/16/22]

  • Raichik has mocked LGBTQ victims of violence and endorsed real-world harassment.

    Despite condemning violence in a comment to The Washington Post in September 2022, Raichik has celebrated and endorsed the harassment and threats that stem from her scrutiny. She also mocked a slain trans man, emphasizing that a report called him a “pregnant boyfriend.” [The Washington Post, 9/2/22; Advocate, 8/27/23; Media Matters, 4/28/22; Twitter/X, 6/15/22]

  • Libs of TikTok’s posts were followed by harassment or threats of violence against at least 10 hospitals or hospital staff

  • LoTT targeted Doernbecher Children’s Hospital; the hospital reported harassment.

    Replies to the post included comments calling the doctors “perverted demons” and saying it was “time for 1776 v.2.0.” [Twitter/X, 3/16/22; Media Matters, 8/18/22]

  • LoTT targeted a Nebraska children’s hospital; the hospital reported threats.

    The post denounced the hospital for hosting a youth Pride event at which information about LGBTQ health and gender-affirming care would be made available. [Twitter/X, 6/13/22; The Washington Post, 9/2/22]

  • LoTT targeted Boston Children’s Hospital; the hospital received violent threats.

    Following posts about Boston Children's Hospital, members of far-right online forums suggested people “start executing these ‘doctors.’” From August 30, 2022, to November 16, 2022, Boston Children's Hospital reportedly received three bomb threats, including one in which the caller cited the hospital's gender-affirming care program. The threats were deemed credible by the FBI and later resulted in an arrest and a guilty plea. [Facebook, 8/11/22; Twitter/X, 8/16/22; Media Matters, 8/18/22; Vice, 8/17/22; NBC Boston, 9/28/23; Boston.com, 10/24/22; The Boston Globe, 11/16/22]

  • LoTT targeted the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh; the hospital reported harassment.

    The hospital also reported online harassment. [Twitter/X, 8/12/22; Human Rights Campaign, 12/8/22; Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 8/28/22] 

  • LoTT targeted a doctor at St. Louis Children’s Hospital; the doctor reported harassment.

    LoTT posted a video of a doctor from the St. Louis Children’s Hospital and the Washington University Transgender Center describing the difference between biological sex and gender identity. According to the Human Rights Campaign, the doctor in the video began receiving “hateful and threatening messages via Twitter and her work email” within minutes of the post. [Human Rights Campaign, 12/8/22] 

  • LoTT targeted Children’s National Hospital; the hospital reported threats.

    LoTT published a report that pushed misinformation about the gender-affirming care program at the Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C.; the hospital reported threats and harassment. [Twitter/X, 8/25/22; The Washington Post, 8/26/22]

  • LoTT targeted Akron Children’s Hospital; the hospital reported harassment.

    The Akron Beacon Journal reported that “Akron Children's Hospital is the latest target of right-wing social media accounts targeting children's hospitals nationwide that offer gender affirming care.” [Twitter/X, 9/19/22; Akron Beacon Journal, 9/22/22; News 5 Cleveland, 9/22/22]

  • LoTT targeted Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia; the hospital reported receiving threats.

    The post claimed that training videos provided to doctors were ultimately intended to “convince parents to get on board with their child’s gender transition.” [Twitter/X, 9/21/22; CBS News Philadelphia, 10/11/22]

  • LoTT targeted a doctor at University of Wisconsin-Madison’s UW Health; the clinic reported harassment.

    LoTT posted a thread that mischaracterized the gender-affirming surgeries performed by the co-director of University of Wisconsin-Madison’s UW Health gender services program; the clinic reported harassment. The thread, to which Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) also replied, was quickly followed by further misinformation, online harassment, and harassing phone calls to the clinic. The physician also reported being doxxed. [NBC, 10/7/22]

  • LoTT highlighted an Oregon medical center; the hospital received a bomb threat.

    The post shows at least 11,500 reposts. The following day the clinic received bomb threats and was forced to close for a day. [Twitter/X, 8/2/23; Advocate, 8/10/23]

  • LoTT targeted Seattle Children’s Hospital; the hospital reported needing heightened security.

    The clinic was targeted on July 18, 2022, and seemingly in response to the post, the gender clinic at the hospital installed a panic button and hired a full-time security guard. Media Matters could not source reporting that the clinic was harassed or threatened, so it has not been included in the total incidents of threats and harassment reported in this publication. [Twitter/X, 7/18/22; Politico, 4/23/23] 

  • Libs of TikTok’s posts were followed by harassment or threats against at least 18 schools, libraries, or educators

  • LoTT began targeting Salem Keizer Public Schools; replies smeared the district.

    From February 28 to April 5, 2022, LoTT tagged the Salem Keizer Public Schools in Oregon at least 12 times; replies smeared the district. Raichik targeted the district in part for announcing new policies that support trans students using chosen pronouns and bathrooms and for issuing pronoun pins to students and faculty. A tweet from the school system account drew hundreds of replies, many filled with anti-LGBTQ attacks and smears. [Media Matters, 4/22/22]

  • LoTT targeted a trans teacher; the teacher was harassed.

    Raichik shared a video of the teacher explaining how he teaches his students about identity. Raichik tagged the teacher’s employer and included the teacher’s Instagram username in her tweets. Users replying to Libs of TikTok argued that the teacher should not be allowed to work with children and declared that he is “another groomer that needs to be arrested and jailed for abusing and trying to indoctrinate kids into the sickness.” [Twitter/X, 4/10/22; Media Matters, 4/28/22]

  • LoTT targeted Austin Independent School District; the district reported harassment.

    LoTT tweeted out false accusations that second-graders in the Austin Independent School District were learning about furries. Media Matters found that LoTT had tweeted about the district at least 18 times by that point, sometimes tagging individual employees. [Mashable, 4/26/22; Media Matters, 4/28/22]

  • LoTT targeted Northwest Junior High; the district received bomb threats.

    LoTT posted about Northwest Junior High in Iowa, denouncing its library for housing a book with LGBTQ content. The school district received graphically anti-gay emails and a pair of bomb threats and eventually decided to remove the book from district collections. [Iowa City Press-Citizen, 3/30/23]

  • LoTT and other right-wing figures targeted a public library in Davis, California; the library received a bomb threat.

    The tweet garnered over 30,000 interactions. The library was targeted with a bomb threat and harassment. [Twitter/X, 8/21/23; MMFA, 8/23/23]

  • LoTT targeted Ellen Ochoa Elementary School; the school received bomb threats.

    The post centered around a 16-second video that a school librarian posted on TikTok. The tweet garnered over 20,000 interactions. The librarian was doxxed and the school received multiple bomb threats. [Twitter/X, 8/21/23; The Oklahoman, 8/23/23]

  • LoTT targeted the principal of a Western Heights elementary school; the district reported threats and the principal resigned.

    On August 30, 2023, LoTT targeted Shane Murnan, insinuating that there was a link between his performance as a drag queen and a previous accusation of possession of child sexual abuse material. The case against Munran was thrown out in 2002 due to lack of evidence and the record of charges was later expunged. The district maintained that Murnan had been hired “in accordance with its usual screening practices,” but Oklahoma State schools Superintendent Ryan Walters, who has since appointed Raichik to the state Department of Education’s Library Media Advisory Committee, called for Murnan's resignation and threatened the district's accreditation status. LoTT continued to target the district in a series of posts and the district received a bomb threat. After several months in which Murnan was “often forced to work off-site due to threats received by the district,” he went on paid administrative leave and then resigned. [Twitter/X, 8/30/23; Newsweek, 9/1/23; Vice, 10/4/23; The Oklahoman, 2/2/24] 

  • LoTT targeted Witchcraft Heights Elementary School; the school received bomb threats.

    Following bomb threats on September 19, 15, and 21, police reported being in contact with state and federal law enforcement. [Vice, 10/4/23; Boston 25 News, 9/21/23]

  • LoTT began targeting Anoka-Hennepin School District; the school received a bomb threat.

    LoTT posted about the district on September 13 and 14. The first tweet garnered over 26,000 interactions. The following day, the school received a bomb threat. [Twitter/X, 9/13/23; Vice, 10/4/23]

  • LoTT targeted a Red Oak School classroom; the school received bomb threats.

    The tweet garnered over 15,000 interactions. The post tagged the school and promoted hateful replies. On September 21, school staff received a bomb threat and evacuated the campus. A second threat was received on September 26. [Twitter/X, 9/15/23; American Independent, 9/29/23]

  • LoTT targeted Pulaski High School; the school received bomb threats.

    The tweet garnered over 7,000 interactions. The school received two bomb threats in the following week. Vice reported that the school attributed the threats to “a variety of controversial social media content.” [Twitter/X, 9/15/23; Vice, 10/4/23]

  • LoTT targeted Cherry Creek School District; the district received bomb threats.

    LoTT published a piece on the account’s Substack claiming that Colorado’s Cherry Creek School District was offering pornography in school libraries to students and referring to the district as “groomers.” On September 22, a local news outlet reported to police that they had received an email stating that multiple bombs had been planted in several elementary schools and administrative buildings. [Sentinel Colorado, 9/28/23] 

  • LoTT targeted Denver Public Schools; the district received bomb threats.

    The tweet garnered over 40,000 interactions. Vice reported that the district “received several threats the following day from someone claiming they’d placed a bomb in three of the 12 schools in the district.” [Twitter/X, 9/24/23; Vice, 10/4/23]

  • LoTT targeted Brownsville Elementary; the school received a bomb threat.

    The school received a bomb threat on September 25 and was evacuated. [Twitter/X, 9/24/23; Vice, 10/4/23]

  • LoTT targeted a professor at Fresno State University; the professor and school received bomb threats.

    The tweet garnered nearly 25,000 interactions. The following day, the Fresno State Police Department was made aware of a bomb threat against both the university and the professor’s home. [Twitter/X, 9/27/23; USA Today, 9/30/23]

  • LoTT targeted Tigard-Tualatin School District; the district received bomb and shooting threats.

    The tweet garnered over 11,000 interactions. The district received bomb and shooting threats in the following days. [Twitter/X, 9/28/23; Vice, 10/4/23]

  • LoTT targeted a North Carolina high school; the school reported threats.

    LoTT posted a video of a pep rally performance at Oak Grove High School, which went viral across social media. The school reported receiving several threats, which the district superintendent attributed to the viral video. [Twitter/X, 10/9/23; The Charlotte Observer, 10/12/23] 

  • LoTT targeted a Des Moines Public Schools teacher; the district reported threats.

    LoTT posted a screenshot from the teacher's social media account. The district reported that the school had received threats and increased security. [Iowa Press Citizen, 11/14/23] 

  • Libs of TikTok’s posts were followed by violent protests or threats against at least 7 Pride events, drag shows, drag queen story hours, or drag performers

  • LoTT targeted a drag queen story hour event in San Lorenzo, California; the event was stormed.

    The event was stormed by men believed to be members of the Proud Boys, who issued threats to patrons. [MMFA, 6/13/22]

  • LoTT targeted a drag queen story hour event at a library in North Carolina; the event was canceled.

    Advocate reported that city officials “received complaints and even threats of violence.” [Twitter/X, 5/31/22; Advocate, 6/7/22]

  • LoTT targeted a drag queen for performing at a California charter school; the performer received death threats.

    The performer also said that they received “messages calling them a ‘groomer.’” [ABC 15 News, 6/8/22; Insider, 6/14/22]

  • LoTT targeted several drag performances in a mass thread; at least one event was threatened.

    LoTT posted what the account referred to as a “MEGA DRAG THREAD,” in which it shared at least 35 events featuring drag queens and accused event organizers of “trying to confuse, corrupt, or sexualize kids.” Twitter, now X, removed the first post of the thread, but left other posts targeting specific events or individuals on the platform. The Proud Boys threatened to disrupt at least one of the events highlighted in the thread, a June 30 drag performance in Woodland, California, and it was canceled. [Media Matters, 6/15/22; The Sacramento Bee, 7/1/22]

  • After LoTT targeted a Pride event in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, police arrested 31 members of an extremist group who were planning to riot at the event.

    LoTT and other right-wing figures targeted a drag event at Coeur d'Alene Pride in Idaho and later spread doctored footage of the event, even after the video had been debunked. Following LoTT’s post, the event was targeted by members of the Patriot Front, 31 of whom were arrested. LoTT later shared doctored footage of a drag queen from the celebration, who then faced threats of violence. [Media Matters, 9/29/22]

  • An Alabama outlet reported that LoTT had targeted a Huntsville animal shelter's drag queen story hour and that the shelter had received death threats.

    LoTT reposted a video of an Alabama teacher reading in drag to a group of students at a local animal shelter and accused the performer of making lewd jokes. The teacher and the shelter reported a series of death threats and bomb threats to local police and the FBI. The teacher was also placed on leave. [KATV, 10/18/22; AL.com, 10/12/22]

  • LoTT shared a doctored video of a drag performer at a University of South Dakota event; the school received bomb threats.

    The video combined footage of an all-ages drag performance with footage from a previous adults-only event in order to make it appear as though a performer in a nude illusion had performed in front of children. The school received an email that targeted the LGBTQ student group that hosted the event, claiming bombs had been placed on the campus and threatening to harm potential survivors of the detonation. [LGBTQ Nation, 12/16/22]

  • Libs of TikTok's anti-LGBTQ posts and blog are amplified on right-wing websites and across social media

  • LoTT’s Substack articles, which target schools, events, and teachers, proliferate on social media

    Using NewsWhip, Media Matters found that Libs of TikTok has published at least 47 articles since January 1, 2023, on its Substack, earning over 95,000 interactions on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. The articles include “BREAKING: Mayor of Burbank gets spanking from drag queen at campaign event,” “SCOOP: Missouri middle schools took students to drag show without parental consent,” and “‘Black supremacist’ teacher with history of racist tweets is fired after bragging that she wouldn't get fired.” On Facebook, posts with the 47 articles earned over 21,000 likes, comments, and shares, and Twitter influencers shared the article over 74,000 times.

  • Right-wing websites have amplified LoTT by mentioning the anti-LGBTQ group, its founder Chaya Raichik, or its website over 700 times so far this year

    Media Matters found that right-wing websites have amplified Libs of TikTok over 700 times, earning over 217,000 interactions on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. Some of the right-wing websites that most frequently mentioned Libs of TikTok included Rumble, Twitchy, Conservative Angle, TheBlaze, and Fox News. 

  • Right-wing Sinclair Broadcast Group plays a unique role in amplifying LoTT online

    Sinclair Broadcast Group’s national program The National Desk and its 70 local stations accounted for 35% of the more than 700 articles that mentioned Libs of TikTok and were published on right-wing websites. For example, two articles that embedded posts from Libs of TikTok — “FACT CHECK: Does an Oklahoma elementary school principal moonlight as a drag queen?” and “University of Arizona nursing students taught to ask 3-year-olds about gender identity, report says” were both published dozens of times by the network of websites. [The National Desk, 9/1/23, 9/8/23]

  • Methodology

    Using NewsWhip, Media Matters compiled all articles that were published between January 1, 2023, and September 22, 2023, and mentioned any of the following keywords affiliated with Libs of TikTok anywhere in the article: “libs of tiktok,” “libsoftiktok,” “libs of tik tok,” “@libsoftiktok,” “libsoftiktok.com,” “Chaya Raichik,” or “Raichik.”

    Three researchers independently assessed the website of these articles for two factors: (1) whether the website targeted a U.S. audience and (2) whether the website’s ideological alignment was right-leaning. Each website was reviewed individually and given a final code if two of the three researchers independently awarded it the same code.

    To be considered as targeting a U.S. audience, a website had to: be written in English, not have any non-U.S. country extensions in the outlet name or its domain, and have an about page that did not suggest it was focused on international news.

    We determined the right-leaning ideological alignment by looking at whether the website was affiliated with right-wing media outlets or figures, or looking to see if an ideology was clearly stated in a website’s title or about page. We coded websites as right-leaning if they identified as Republican, conservative, right or right-leaning, pro-Trump, pro-Second Amendment rights, pro-life, pro-Confederacy, or libertarian. If the website’s most recent 3-5 articles clearly expressed a right-leaning ideology, the website was coded accordingly.

    We reviewed data on the resulting list of articles and used NewsWhip’s definitions of interactions.