The Johnny Depp/Amber Heard trial was huge — huge — for social media.
So it’s only natural that social media expert and WaPo tech journalist Taylor Lorenz would take a closer look at that particular angle. And she did:
I wrote about how the Depp/Heard trial offered a glimpse into our future media ecosystem, where content creators serve as the personalities breaking news to an increasing numbers of viewers — and, in turn, define the online narrative around major events https://t.co/lwJ3pekgis
— Taylor Lorenz (@TaylorLorenz) June 2, 2022
In this new media landscape, every big news event becomes an opportunity to amass followers, money and clout. And the Depp-Heard trial showed how the creator-driven news ecosystem can influence public opinion based on platform incentives https://t.co/lwJ3pekgis
— Taylor Lorenz (@TaylorLorenz) June 2, 2022
Nearly every large breaking news event in the past year has birthed a new crop of online influencers, and with each event more creators realize the value of incorporating more news coverage into their channels https://t.co/lwJ3pekgis
— Taylor Lorenz (@TaylorLorenz) June 2, 2022
I talked to dozens of content creators of all sizes this morning, in many genres, and nearly all of them said the same thing: the trial helped them recognize the power of breaking news to capture audiences, and the plan to cover more news going forward https://t.co/lwJ3pekgis
— Taylor Lorenz (@TaylorLorenz) June 2, 2022
“There’s a seriousness that legacy media follows when they cover these things. Content creators can lean into Internet culture. They can be silly and crude and crass. It comes off as way more authentic to a lot of people and I think that really resonates.” https://t.co/lwJ3pekgis
— Taylor Lorenz (@TaylorLorenz) June 3, 2022
"Creators aren’t beholden to any editorial standards or journalistic norms… In fact, they’re incentivized to break them, to fit the narrative and make money," @kattenbarge, a reporter at NBC News covering the trial tweeted https://t.co/lwJ3pekgis
— Taylor Lorenz (@TaylorLorenz) June 3, 2022
As more people turn to online creators for information, the trial provided a playbook for anyone looking to leverage big news events for their own gain https://t.co/lwJ3pekgis
— Taylor Lorenz (@TaylorLorenz) June 3, 2022
Marlon McLeod, 20, a creator who runs a large IG page dedicated to posting videos of attractive men, said he plans to pivot his page to covering more news.
A video he posted recently about the trial which supported Depp got more than 34M views. https://t.co/lwJ3pekgis
— Taylor Lorenz (@TaylorLorenz) June 3, 2022
“Before [the trial], my account was about posting random videos of men, but as my account grows, I want to be diving more into these events reporting on them. Kind of like news outlets.” https://t.co/lwJ3pekgis
— Taylor Lorenz (@TaylorLorenz) June 3, 2022
Whether many in traditional media and politics want to admit it or not, it's a YouTuber's world right now and we're just living in it. I wrote about how this trial was proof of content creator's growing influence over the news cycle https://t.co/lwJ3pekgis https://t.co/LgPcpKiKzM
— Taylor Lorenz (@TaylorLorenz) June 3, 2022
Feel free to head on over to the Washington Post to read Taylor’s article. But if you do, there’s something you should know: it would appear that Taylor Lorenz’s journalistic, um, methods are once again being questioned by subjects of her coverage. Go figure!
First up, here’s Alyte Mazeika, who runs Legal Bytes. Mazeika was shocked to discover that she had not responded to Lorenz’s request for comment, considering she had never received such a request to begin with:
Um. This says I didn't respond to requests to comment? I know I've gotten a lot of emails over the past two months, but I've just double checked for your name, @TaylorLorenz, and I see no email from you.
Also, I didn't suddenly pivot. I started covering this before trial began. https://t.co/7qHTrOsfHQ pic.twitter.com/yJzzqS8ggS
— Legal Bytes 🍽💙 (@legalbytesmedia) June 3, 2022
Tbh the other part that bothers me about this is she references the Insider article for reporting that I "pivoted". I looked back at that article again for a refresher, and that's a misrepresentation of what @Geoff_Weiss wrote, which imo is unfair too.
— Legal Bytes 🍽💙 (@legalbytesmedia) June 3, 2022
UPDATE:
I have now been (for the first time) reached out to for comment… After the piece was already published and I had to call it out.
This is so dumb.
— Legal Bytes 🍽💙 (@legalbytesmedia) June 3, 2022
It is indeed dumb. It is also officially a trend:
The Washington Post LIED and DID NOT contact me before including me in their story on Johnny Depp, despite reporting they did so.
I noted this on Twitter today at 8:31p.
At 9:44p they decided to contact me, AFTER I noted this publicly. ( pic.twitter.com/gkGt0WuMKZ
— ThatUmbrellaGuy (@ThatUmbrella) June 3, 2022
Huh.
Fascinating NONE of these so-called journalists ask domestic abuse survivors why they resoundingly back Johnny Depp.
Instead, they boil years of my coverage into "You made money that month," pretending thats some huge gotcha.
— ThatUmbrellaGuy (@ThatUmbrella) June 3, 2022
Taylor Lorenz definitely has a brand, that’s for sure.
The Washington Post also FLAGRANTLY misrepresented my earnings report and needs to correct it.
Social Blade says I made between $4.9k and $79.1k.
They ADDED TO the highest estimate, overreporting for dramatic effect. pic.twitter.com/YIPPcXzXwU
— ThatUmbrellaGuy (@ThatUmbrella) June 3, 2022
Taylor Lorenz seems to do a lot of things for dramatic effect. Particularly lie. She loves to lie. And she has a real knack for doing so in a way that makes the targets of her “journalism” look bad.
BTW, what's your narrative for misreporting parts of your article? I thought you were all about editorial standards or journalistic norms. https://t.co/jMVahu40jP
— Jonny (@Onkel_Jo) June 3, 2022
You almost had it … Taylor’s all about violating editorial standards and journalistic norms. Not that that bothers the Washington Post, of course, or the New York Times before them. It’s why they hired her in the first place.
This you? Again, Really.https://t.co/YWjB1OIb85
— Barking Seals of Freedom 🦭 (@SealsTwit) June 3, 2022
Every time.
there are no editorial standards at the washington post. just yesterday @CharlesFLehman and i noted how the paper secretly edited out the race of a mass shooter https://t.co/vyOuQAKO39
— Joe Gabriel Simonson (@SaysSimonson) June 3, 2022
Because of course they did.
Liar. https://t.co/NTlpzldHWa
— Andrea 🌿 (@SykesAndreea) June 3, 2022
The lying just never ends with you https://t.co/6Vxs1KkrIq
— Ben (@ben_poah) June 3, 2022
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Update:
On a roll: Taylor Lorenz peddles bald-faced lie about Johnny Depp’s ‘core claim’ in defamation trial against Amber Heard https://t.co/AXqcXX7Ue6
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) June 3, 2022
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