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The Washington Post Reporter Who Called Biden a ‘War Criminal’ Has a History of Anti-Israel Social Media Posts
The Washington Post’s Taylor Lorenz recently came under fire for posting a selfie on Instagram with US President Joe Biden in the background and the caption “War criminal .”
The post is widely believed to be a reference to President Biden’s support for Israel during its ongoing war against Hamas in Gaza.
For many people, this might appear to be Taylor Lorenz’s first questionable social media post regarding Israel and the war in Gaza, with The Washington Post vowing to look into it, and NPR describing the technology reporter as having “not been otherwise vocal about the Israel-Hamas conflict.”
However, this is far from the truth.
“Lorenz has not been otherwise vocal about the Israel-Hamas conflict.” @taylorlorenz’s articles ignore campus antisemitism, she reposted accounts who excused violence against Jews, and she spreads debunked libels about famine.
Oh! And journalists in Gaza operate under the… https://t.co/8Oq82oyvpz pic.twitter.com/a8oSUDicKN
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) August 16, 2024
Throughout the current Israel-Hamas war, Taylor Lorenz has posted on her personal X (formerly Twitter) account a variety of questionable statements about the conflict, veering into anti-Israel disinformation, whitewashing of Palestinian terrorism, and conspiracy theories.
Some of the posts include:
Describing Palestinian journalists in Gaza as “more legitimate than most [people] on cable news” even though a significant number of Gaza-based journalists have been found to have ties to Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and other proscribed Palestinian terror organizations.
In an effort to whitewash the anti-Israel campus protests that sprang up across the United States in spring 2024, Lorenz claimed that “there’s no evidence” that any of the student protesters had said “Death to America.” A simple Google search would have provided this esteemed journalist with evidence proving otherwise.
The re-sharing of a post on X that justified an anti-Israel riot that took place outside a Los Angeles synagogue in June 2024.
The spread of debunked claims about an imminent famine in Gaza.
Much as @TaylorLorenz would like to pretend this is true, there is no legitimate journalist who is reporting this. “It’s been a major topic of discussion on X all day” because this app is a cesspool of antisemitic conspiracy theories, you idiot. pic.twitter.com/tMc5mwGh19
— Melissa Weiss (@melissaeweiss) June 25, 2024
Does This Matter?
Does it matter that Taylor Lorenz has spent her spare time spreading disinformation and conspiracy theories about the Jewish state?
After all, Lorenz is a technology reporter and is entitled to her personal opinions.
However, there are two reasons why we should be concerned about the recent tumult surrounding her post referring to Biden as a war criminal.
First, if The Washington Post takes seriously what its journalists post on social media, as is evidenced by their declared investigation into this latest Instagram post, why has it allowed Lorenz to spread disinformation and falsehoods without any response until now?
Second, although Lorenz writes primarily about technology and online culture, her work does occasionally intersect with matters relating to Israel and the war in Gaza.
Between October 7 and today, Lorenz has written several articles that touch on the Israel-Hamas conflict, including articles about discussions of the conflict on TikTok, pro-Israel apps, pro-Palestinian social media users, and “Gen Z influencers” who have turned against Biden due to his support for Israel.
Is a reporter who appears to riots outside synagogues and whitewashes both anti-Israel protesters and terror-affiliated Gazan journalists someone who The Washington Post wants representing their brand online, or reporting on Israel-related matters?
The author is a contributor to HonestReporting, a Jerusalem-based media watchdog with a focus on antisemitism and anti-Israel bias — where a version of this article first appeared.
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Trump’s Travel Ban on 12 Countries Goes Into Effect Early Monday
US President Donald Trump attends the Saudi-US Investment Forum, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, May 13, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Brian Snyder
US President Donald Trump’s order banning citizens of 12 countries from entering the United States goes into effect at 12:01 am ET (0401 GMT) on Monday, a move the president promulgated to protect the country from “foreign terrorists.”
The countries affected by the latest travel ban are Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.
The entry of people from seven other countries – Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela – will be partially restricted.
Trump, a Republican, said the countries subject to the most severe restrictions were determined to harbor a “large-scale presence of terrorists,” fail to cooperate on visa security, have an inability to verify travelers’ identities, as well as inadequate record-keeping of criminal histories and high rates of visa overstays in the United States.
He cited last Sunday’s incident in Boulder, Colorado, in which an Egyptian national tossed a gasoline bomb into a crowd of pro-Israel demonstrators as an example of why the new curbs are needed. But Egypt is not part of the travel ban.
The travel ban forms part of Trump’s policy to restrict immigration into the United States and is reminiscent of a similar move in his first term when he barred travelers from seven Muslim-majority nations.
Officials and residents in countries whose citizens will soon be banned expressed dismay and disbelief.
Chad President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno said he had instructed his government to stop granting visas to US citizens in response to Trump’s action.
“Chad has neither planes to offer nor billions of dollars to give, but Chad has its dignity and its pride,” he said in a Facebook post, referring to countries such as Qatar, which gifted the U.S. a luxury airplane for Trump’s use and promised to invest billions of dollars in the U.S.
Afghans who worked for the US or US-funded projects and were hoping to resettle in the US expressed fear that the travel ban would force them to return to their country, where they could face reprisal from the Taliban.
Democratic US lawmakers also voiced concern about the policies.
“Trump’s travel ban on citizens from over 12 countries is draconian and unconstitutional,” said US Representative Ro Khanna on social media late on Thursday. “People have a right to seek asylum.”
The post Trump’s Travel Ban on 12 Countries Goes Into Effect Early Monday first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Israeli Military Says It Struck Hamas Member in Southern Syria
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks during a joint press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron after a meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, May 7, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Stephanie Lecocq/Pool
The Israeli military said on Sunday that it struck a member of the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas in southern Syria’s Mazraat Beit Jin, days after Israel carried out its first airstrikes in the country in nearly a month.
Hamas did not immediately comment on the strike.
Israel said on Tuesday it hit weapons belonging to the government in retaliation for the firing of two projectiles towards Israel for the first time under the country’s new leadership. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz held Syria’s President Ahmed al-Sharaa accountable.
Damascus in response said reports of the shelling were unverified, reiterating that Syria does not pose a threat to any regional party.
A little known group named “Martyr Muhammad Deif Brigades,” an apparent reference to Hamas’ military leader who was killed in an Israeli strike in 2024, reportedly claimed responsibility for the shelling. Reuters, however, could not independently verify the claim.
The post Israeli Military Says It Struck Hamas Member in Southern Syria first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Israel Orders Military to Stop Gaza-Bound Yacht Carrying Greta Thunberg
FILE PHOTO: Activist Greta Thunberg sits aboard the aid ship Madleen, which left the Italian port of Catania on June 1 to travel to Gaza to deliver humanitarian aid, in this picture released on June 2, 2025 on social media. Photo: Freedom Flotilla Coalition/via REUTERS/File Photo
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz told the military on Sunday to stop a charity boat carrying activists including Sweden’s Greta Thunberg who are planning to defy an Israeli blockade and reach Gaza.
Operated by the pro-Palestinian Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC), the British-flagged Madleen yacht set sail from Sicily on June 6 and is currently off the Egyptian coast, heading slowly towards the Gaza Strip, which is besieged by Israel.
“I instructed the IDF to act so that the Madleen .. does not reach Gaza,” Katz said in a statement.
“To the antisemitic Greta and her Hamas-propaganda-spouting friends, I say clearly: You’d better turn back, because you will not reach Gaza.”
Climate activist Thunberg said she joined the Madleen crew to “challenge Israel’s illegal siege and escalating war crimes” in Gaza and highlight the urgent need for humanitarian aid. She has rejected previous Israeli accusations of antisemitism.
Israel went to war with Hamas in October 2023 after the Islamist terrorists launched a surprise attack on southern Israel, killing more 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages back to the enclave.
Katz said the blockade was essential to Israel’s national security as it seeks to eliminate Hamas.
“The State of Israel will not allow anyone to break the naval blockade on Gaza, whose primary purpose is to prevent the transfer of weapons to Hamas,” he said.
The Madleen is carrying a symbolic quantity of aid, including rice and baby formula, the FFC has said.
FFC press officer Hay Sha Wiya said on Sunday the boat was currently some 160 nautical miles (296 km) from Gaza. “We are preparing for the possibility of interception,” she said.
Besides Thunberg, there are 11 other crew members aboard, including Rima Hassan, a French member of the European Parliament.
Israeli media have reported that the military plans to intercept the yacht before it reaches Gaza and escort it to the Israeli port of Ashdod. The crew would then be deported.
In 2010, Israeli commandos killed 10 people when they boarded a Turkish ship, the Mavi Marmara, that was leading a small flotilla towards Gaza.
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