This Viral TikTok Account Is Spreading LGBTQ+ Hate- Can It Be Stopped?
By Christine Siamanta Kinori
Libs of TikTok is an influential right-wing TikTok account with over 1.4 million followers. The account recently made the headlines when it received a temporary 7-day suspension over its content. The account has been known to post content that promotes harassment and heavily misguided criticism of marginalized groups.
The account is run by a former Brooklyn real estate saleswoman known as Chaya Raichik. Originally the account was created in November 2020 as a personal account but was later changed in April 2021 to Libs of TikTok. The account started gaining media attention in August 2021 but the identity of the account holder was only revealed in April 2022 by a story done by the Washington Post.
Other than the numerous bans the account has received over the years over its hateful and false claims, the account is also being investigated for possible links to several hate crimes. The police are investigating the account following its tweets in June 2022 posting the locations of all ages Drag shows across America. The posts were taken down but investigators believe the account tweets on that month may have led to a Drag show in San Lorenzo being disrupted by the Proud Boys, a far-right extremist group.
Recently, the account has been focusing on making hateful commentary on hospitals that offer gender-affirming surgeries. In August 2022, Libs of TikTok made a series of tweets accusing The Boston Children’s Hospital of offering gender-affirming hysterectomies to minors. The account attached a video of a doctor from the hospital discussing a gender-affirming hysterectomy and the account captioned it as: “Boston Children’s Hospital is now offering ‘gender-affirming hysterectomies’ for young girls”
This was a false claim and the hospital faced heavy online criticism forcing them to take the video down and clarify they don’t the service to young children. The hospital received many death threats after the account posted the video and the staff had to get extra security. They also got numerous bomb threats and in one serious case the hospital had to go on a temporary lockdown but so far nothing about the anonymous bomb threat has been linked back to the Libs of Tik Tok account.
On August 25, Libs of Tik Tok also shared a recording of staff members at The Children’s National Hospital, who made a mistake about who is eligible for a hysterectomy at the hospital’s clinic. The hospital later made a clarification but the damage had been done and they started receiving threats and hostile calls.
In September, the account reposted a 2019 story by a Cleveland news station on Akron Children’s Hospital offering gender-affirming care for transgender youth. The account followed the post by tweeting other misleading information about the hospital’s gender-affirming care. This led to the hospital getting so many threats. The hospital ended up taking down information about its employees and the care they provide on its website for protection.
The account continued to spread false information about other hospitals’ gender-affirming care. In the case of the University of Wisconsin–Madison hospital, the account targeted one female doctor. Other hospitals that have been affected by false statements made by the account include Phoenix children’s hospital, UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, a children’s hospital in Omaha, and Chicago’s Lurie Children’s Hospital.
The account has also posted tweets insinuating that including LGBTQ+ materials in sex education classes is “grooming and teachers who identify as queer should be fired. The account also encouraged parents to contact any learning institutions that permit transgender students to use bathrooms corresponding to their gender identity. Most of these tweets have since been deleted but the internet never forgets.
Although Libs of Tik Tok argues that she is expressing herself, her content promotes an extreme anti-LGBTQ+ narrative. This is hateful conduct and these social media platforms have a cause to suspend her account. The account is targeting LGBTQ+-friendly schools, teachers, and hospitals which provide important procedures to the LGBTQ+ community. The extent of influence this account has cannot be ignored and it is putting people’s lives in danger by these false claims. I believe the account should be banned permanently. We all should call on TikTok to do the right thing.
About the Author:
Christine Siamanta Kinori grew up in a little village in Kenya known as Loitoktok near the border of Kenya and Tanzania. All she wanted to do when she grew up was to explore the world. Her curiosity led her to join Nairobi University to pursue a degree in Journalism and Mass Communications. She later got a job with an amazing travel magazine Nomad Africa which gave her the opportunity to explore Africa. She also writes for numerous travel websites about Africa and tries to create a new narrative in the media about our aesthetic continent.
Christine claims to have somewhat unhealthy addiction to TV and reading, as it is a fun way to keep herself occupied during the long journeys for her travel writing. She is also a believer of letting people be their beautiful selves. To her, love is love and it is the greatest gift we have as humans.
