As we discussed earlier today, Washington Post political reporter Felicia Sonmez hasn’t let up on her campaign to punish every single coworker who thinks she went way overboard with her reaction to Dave Weigel retweeting a joke (that apparently hit a little too close to home).
These tweets falsely accusing me of “clout chasing,” “bullying,” “cruelty” and directing an “eager mob” to carry out “a barrage online abuse” are still up … even after I repeatedly raised them to management and noted that I’ve been receiving threats and abuse.
Collegial! pic.twitter.com/uZpoGEyEGh
— Felicia Sonmez (@feliciasonmez) June 8, 2022
To her credit, Washington Post reporter Lisa Rein politely advised Sonmez to back off and move on to more productive uses of her time:
Please stop
— Lisa Rein (@Reinlwapo) June 8, 2022
Little did Lisa know that she’d kicked a hornet’s nest. Washington Post elections coverage software engineer Holden Saige Foreman (he/him, in case you were wondering) quickly pounced (or seized) on Rein’s tweet and did a little investigative journalism of his own:
I scrolled through the likes on this tweet seemingly telling Felicia to stop fighting online abuse, and nearly all the verified accounts who have liked the tweet are men. All four of the @washingtonpost journalists who have liked the tweet are men. Is that not interesting to you?
— Holden Saige Foreman (@hsforeman) June 8, 2022
Not all heroes wear capes.
Washington Post reporter Holden Foreman says he scrolled through more than 4,800 likes and identified four WashPo reporters who were in agreement with the sentiments of Lisa Rein pic.twitter.com/HUvdG28z3I
— Jon Levine (@LevineJonathan) June 8, 2022
Felicia is ever so grateful:
Thank you so much, Holden. 🙏🏼🙏🏼
— Felicia Sonmez (@feliciasonmez) June 8, 2022
Oh yes, Holden. Thank you so much for white-knighting for stunningly brave damsel in distress Felicia Sonmez!
Thank you Holden, women appreciate you doing this ❤️
— Kelly 🌋 (@KellyMCrue) June 8, 2022
*Karens appreciate you doing this.
Women who aren’t completely psychotic think you and Felicia Sonmez look like giant asses, Holden.
I’m a woman.
Please stop. https://t.co/y1IR87bCT7
— 🎐 (@UnringThisBell) June 8, 2022
Democracy Dies in the Darkness Inside Tweeters’ Pants.
BREAKING: All four Washington Post journalists who liked a tweet critical of Felicia Sonmez are men.
Live updates as the story develops. https://t.co/3bhn5nGgfV
— Aaron Gross (@Rongwrong_) June 8, 2022
WaPo has a dedicated editor who checks the genitals of people who like tweets that ask WaPo drama queens to cease and desist https://t.co/sdeI5BtqmB
— Horace Juvenal (@horacejuvenal) June 8, 2022
If we were Jeff Bezos, we’d sell the Washington Post, like, yesterday.
Hell, we’ll give him five bucks for it right now. That’s about $4.99 more than it’s actually worth at this point.
I work on live elections coverage at The Post as a software engineer. I am not a member of the newsroom, and I have not received any of the communication about social media policies over the past few days. I care about my workplace and issues facing people in journalism broadly. https://t.co/5OB247OKy0
— Holden Saige Foreman (@hsforeman) June 8, 2022
Regarding the current situation, I’m upset that there is this framing of infighting at The Post instead of a broader discussion about the inequities journalists experience on social media and how The Post and other newsrooms can work to change that. I stand by everything I wrote.
— Holden Saige Foreman (@hsforeman) June 8, 2022
For more on those inequities: https://t.co/Z5gzWra9Hb
— Felicia Sonmez (@feliciasonmez) June 8, 2022
Yiiiikes.
Just keep tweeting through it. You’re doing great.
— WhatsTheFuss? (@WhatsFuss) June 8, 2022
OK, Jeff. We’ll give you $1.25.
