Tech columnist Taylor Lorenz recently departed from the Washington Post and made headlines with her plans to launch a digital magazine named User Mag, as detailed in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. Lorenz has expressed a preference for maintaining an interactive relationship with her audience, which she finds challenging within traditional media roles.
Prior to her resignation, Lorenz’s position at the Post became uncertain following an incident in August, where she had labeled President Biden a “war criminal” in a caption of a selfie taken during a White House event. The image, with Biden in the background, was shared privately on social media.
Lorenz, known for her contentious online presence, did not contribute further to the Post after the incident. Sources within the Post informed NPR that she lost the newsroom leaders’ trust due to the caption and her subsequent denial of responsibility. Although she initially claimed that someone else added the caption, Lorenz eventually admitted to editors that she had distributed the image after NPR confirmed the authenticity of the post.
The Washington Post initiated a review, citing the importance of upholding its standards. Lorenz claimed the image was shared as a joke echoing an online meme and not as a critique of President Biden. The outcome of the review remains undisclosed, but a spokesperson expressed appreciation for her contributions and confirmed her departure to pursue independent journalism.
Lorenz conveyed to NPR her desire to exit legacy media, emphasizing the industry’s incompatibility with her professional aspirations. Her new magazine aims to address the gap she perceives between her work and the understanding of her former editors.
Though her social media accounts previously highlighted her associations with platforms like Substack and Vox Media, they now promote User Mag. At the Democratic National Convention, Lorenz participated as a content creator rather than a Post reporter, indicating her shifting career trajectory. Before her tenure at the Post, Lorenz worked for noted publications such as The Atlantic and The New York Times and frequently engaged in online disputes that tested the limits of her former employers’ social media policies.
While colleagues describe Lorenz as a well-sourced and collaborative reporter, her assertiveness online, particularly in defending her work, has been noted. In 2022, she publicly criticized her editor for errors in one of her stories via social media, claiming to be targeted by a “bad faith” campaign. The Post permitted her to identify the editor’s role in the incident, though the decision was questioned.
In defending the “war criminal” post, Lorenz reiterated it was an inside joke, misunderstood by those unfamiliar with digital influencer culture. In a New Yorker interview discussing her new publication, Lorenz remarked that every president she has known in her lifetime could be considered a war criminal.
