New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins froze Monday when a reporter asked him to explain his government's definition of a "woman."
At a press conference, journalist Sean Plunket confronted Hipkins with the basic question: "How do you, and how does this government, define a woman?"
The question sent Hipkins into a tailspin. It took several seconds for Hipkins to gain his bearings before he stumbled forward and pushed the progressive view on gender.
"To be honest, Sean, that question has come slightly out of left field for me," Hipkins said. "The — well, biology, sex, gender, umm — people define themselves, people define their own genders."
Sensing the prime minister's desire to dodge the question, Plunket followed up by referring to comments made by British Member of Parliament Keir Starmer, in which the leader of the U.K. Labour Party defended the rights of biological women over those of trans women.
"I'd ask again: How do you define what a woman is?" Plunket asked.
This time, Hipkins dodged providing a substantive response by claiming he has not made a "pre-formulated" answer.
"I wasn't expecting that question, so it's not something I've pre-formulated an answer on. But in terms of gender identity, I think people define their gender identity for themselves," the premier said.
\u201c#BREAKING: New Zealand PM left SPEECHLESS when asked by seasoned reporter @SeanPlunket to define what a woman is.\n\n@elonmusk, Sean is the last real journalist left in the Kiwi press gallery, yet Twitter suspended him today after the alphabet mafia tricked the algorithm.\u201d— Avi Yemini (@Avi Yemini) 1680499614
Finally, Plunket asked Hipkins to respond to Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull, a women's rights activist also known as "Posie Parker," who believes the rights of trans women do not override the rights of biological women. Hipkins called her views "abhorrent."
"I think some of the views being conveyed around the transgender community, some of the sentiment that she has expressed towards the transgender community is abhorrent," he said.
The viral moment was particularly ironic because Hipkins' predecessor, Jacinda Ardern, is a woman. Hipkins became premier after Ardern, known worldwide for her strict COVID lockdown policies, resigned in January.
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Twitter owner Elon Musk confirmed that the Twitter account for Washington Post tech columnist Taylor Lorenz was suspended for "prior doxxing." Musk added in his Sunday morning tweet that the suspension is temporary and "will be lifted shorty."
\u201c@EricRWeinstein Temp suspension due to prior doxxing action by this account. Will be lifted shortly.\u201d— Eric Weinstein (@Eric Weinstein) 1671354169
The suspension didn't last long. Early Sunday afternoon Lorenz's Twitter account was active again.
Of course she wasn't thrilled about things Saturday night.
Lorenz wrote on a Substack post titled, "Elon Musk banned me from Twitter" that the social media platform's new CEO "suspended" her Twitter account.
She added that her "colleague Drew Harwell, who has also been suspended, and I have been working on a story involving Musk and were hoping to get comment from him. We attempted to reach him several times through email over the past few days." Lorenz noted that at 8:30pm EST she tried "reaching out for comment on Twitter" to Musk in a post that promised, "We're taking this very seriously and want to ensure this is pursued the right way."
Lorenz said when she logged in to see if Musk had responded, she learned she "was suspended. I received zero communication from the company on why I was suspended or what terms I violated."
More from Lorenz:
"I have been on Twitter since 2010 and have run Twitter account for major media brands including Verizon, Wordpress, The Daily Mail, People magazine, The Hill, and dozens more. Never once in my 13 year career in social media have I received a single terms of service or community guidelines violation, for my personal account or any account that I’ve run.
"Twitter has served as an essential real time news source and played a crucial role in the journalism world, but Musk’s arbitrary suspensions of journalists who report on him should worry anyone who values journalism and free expression."
Lorenz also posted video about her plight — while decked out in a glittery getup and appearing to force a smile:
\u201cWatch Taylor Lorenz almost in tears as she discusses her ban. \n\nIt\u2019s incredible watching these \u201cjournalists\u201d just in absolute shock at finally being held to the same standard as everyone else. They\u2019re so used to living by a different set of rules\u201d— Libs of TikTok (@Libs of TikTok) 1671343799
Variety reported that Lorenz was tweeting from an alternate Twitter account, @nodreamsoflabor, before that also was banned.
Lorenz made national headlines in April after she was accused of doxxing the creator of Libs of TikTok:
\u201cHi @TaylorLorenz! Which of my relatives did you enjoy harassing the most at their homes yesterday?\u201d— Libs of TikTok (@Libs of TikTok) 1650373837
What's more, Lorenz cried tears on camera earlier that same month, claiming she endured online harassment:
\u201cThis was Taylor Lorenz a couple of weeks ago.\n\nShe was crying victim of "harassment\u201d.\n\nToday she tracked down and harassed family members of the @libsoftiktok account for an article she\u2019s working on.\n\nIt turns out Taylor\u2019s the perpetrator, not victim.\nhttps://t.co/CifXGvASCV\u201d— Avi Yemini (@Avi Yemini) 1650332637
All that said, it will come as no surprise that numerous folks have been saying Lorenz's suspension from Twitter serves her right:
Commentator Stephen L. Miller, however, veered in a slightly different direction: "She has been one of the leading advocates of getting people banned and censored across platforms from social media. Also, Taylor Lorenz should not have been suspended from Twitter."
Musk on Thursday suspended a number of journalists — along with leftist commentator Keith Olbermann — from Twitter for posting about an account that was tracking his private flights.
But Musk soon announced — after running a poll about their fate — that he would reinstate the accounts of the suspended journalists: "The people have spoken. Accounts who doxxed my location will have their suspension lifted now."
Between courageously defending their nation in the face of Russia’s brutal invasion and the non-stop rigors of cashing in on all those billions of U.S. aid dollars, it's a wonder that Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his wife Olena Zelenska were able to find the time for a little photo shoot with Vogue magazine.
The magazine shared a few photos from the upcoming October 2022 issue on social media Wednesday.
\u201cFirst Lady Olena Zelenska and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Kyiv, Ukraine, July 2022 / For @voguemagazine To Be Featured In Vogue Magazine, October 2022\u201d— Annie Leibovitz (@Annie Leibovitz) 1658935119
People on Twitter seemed duly impressed:
\u201cNothing screams genuine struggle more than a wartime Vogue photoshoot.\u201d— Avi Yemini (@Avi Yemini) 1658898217
\u201cwartime vogue photo shoots. very serious. let\u2019s keep sending ukraine weekly billion dollar aid packages to protect \u201cdemocracy.\u201d don\u2019t question it.\u201d— Logan Hall (@Logan Hall) 1658862926
\u201cWhy did we send $54 billion to Ukraine, so Zelensky & his wife could pose for Vogue? \n\nYou\u2019re at war & you\u2019ve got time for photo shoots?\u201d— #ThePersistence (@#ThePersistence) 1658928049
\u201cWhile we send Ukraine $60 billion in aid Zelenskyy is doing photoshoots for Vogue Magazine. \n\nThese people think we are nothing but a bunch of suckers.\u201d— Lauren Boebert (@Lauren Boebert) 1658922931
\u201cWhen your people are dying in a #NATO proxy war and you pose for Vogue you are not a leader, you are a morally bankrupt NATO-controlled parasite who sends his own people to death while dressing up & prostituting himself to Western warlords.\n\n#Zelensky #Ukraine\u201d— vanessa beeley (@vanessa beeley) 1658890017
On "The News & Why It Matters" Wednesday, BlazeTV host Sara Gonzales, BlazeTV host Elijah Schaffer of "Slightly Offens*ve," and head writer and researcher for Glenn Beck Jason Buttrill discussed the "portrait of bravery" and asked, "How many billions of dollars did the U.S. send Ukraine again?"
Watch the video clip below or find full episodes of "The News & Why It Matters" here. Can't watch? Download the podcast here.
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Social media came for Washington Post technology reporter Taylor Lorenz in full force after she was accused of doxxing the anonymous creator of the popular Twitter account Libs of TikTok.
The outlet then appears to have stealth-edited the report to remove the woman's personal information.
Lorenz made headlines earlier in April after bursting into tears during an MSNBC hit recounting online harassment to which she said she was subjected, which reportedly prompted her to contemplate suicide.
According to reports, Lorenz sparked fury after she doxxed the anonymous woman in a Tuesday report for the Post, sharing a link to the woman's real estate license, which showed her address.
A portion of the report accused the social media user of nefariously trying to shape right-wing media and thus public policy.
"Libs of TikTok reposts a steady stream of TikTok videos and social media posts, primarily from LGBTQ+ people, often including incendiary framing designed to generate outrage," the report said. "Videos shared from the account quickly find their way to the most influential names in right-wing media. The account has emerged as a powerful force on the Internet, shaping right-wing media, impacting anti-LGBTQ+ legislation and influencing millions by posting viral videos aimed at inciting outrage among the right."
"The anonymous account’s impact is deep and far-reaching," Lorenz warned. "Its content is amplified by high-profile media figures, politicians and right-wing influencers. Its tweets reach millions, with influence spreading far beyond its more than 648,000 Twitter followers. Libs of TikTok has become an agenda-setter in right-wing online discourse, and the content it surfaces shows a direct correlation with the recent push in legislation and rhetoric directly targeting the LGBTQ+ community."
On Monday, the Libs of TikTok account shared an image of Lorenz outside of a family's home. She captioned the photo, "Which of my relatives did you enjoy harassing the most at their homes yesterday?"
At the time of this reporting, the tweet has received more than 65,000 likes and has generated a firestorm of comments accusing Lorenz of hypocrisy.
Hi @TaylorLorenz! Which of my relatives did you enjoy harassing the most at their homes yesterday?pic.twitter.com/QehkBSgcmG— Libs of Tik Tok (@Libs of Tik Tok) 1650373837
Lorenz tweeted in her defense, writing, "Reporters make phone calls, send messages, show up places, and knock on doors when reporting out a story."
She aded, "I reported this story out extensively, using every tool I had, to ensure I had the correct woman."
Reporters make phone calls, send messages, show up places, and knock on doors when reporting out a story. I reported this story out extensively, using every tool I had, to ensure I had the correct womanhttps://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/04/19/libs-of-tiktok-right-wing-media/\u00a0\u2026— Taylor Lorenz (@Taylor Lorenz) 1650374814
She also insisted that the woman's identity should not necessarily remain private, because she "isn't just some average woman with a social media account" and is, instead, a "powerful influencer operating a massively impactful right wing media shaping discourse around LGBTQ+ rights."
Thousands of comments castigating Lorenz for what they said was a hit piece on the Twitter user began flooding the site beginning Tuesday morning.
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Glenn Greenwald hit out at Lorenz after the Libs of TikTok photo went viral and tweeted, "The same people who — just 2 weeks ago — were insisting that criticizing Taylor Lorenz is wrong because it generates ‘harassment’ toward her are now cheering as she shows up at the homes of the relatives of Twitter users to dox them.”
The same people who - just 2 weeks ago - were insisting that criticizing Taylor Lorenz is wrong because it generates "harassment" toward her are now cheering as she shows up at the homes of the relatives of Twitter users to dox them.\n\nJournalists at the top of the caste order.— Glenn Greenwald (@Glenn Greenwald) 1650375383
Greg Price, a senior digital strategist for X Strategies, wrote, "The Washington Post put more effort into exposing @libsoftiktok's name and address than they did investigating Hunter Biden's laptop."
The Washington Post put more effort into exposing @libsoftiktok's name and address than they did investigating Hunter Biden's laptop— Greg Price (@Greg Price) 1650387271
Matt Walsh, author and Daily Wire contributor, added, "Libs of TikTok reposts content from TikTok. This is important work because that's the site millions of kids use. The Left is mad at her because they don't want us to know what our kids are being exposed to. We're not supposed to see that stuff. Only our kids are."
Libs of TikTok reposts content from TikTok. This is important work because that\u2019s the site millions of kids use. The Left is mad at her because they don\u2019t want us to know what our kids are being exposed to. We\u2019re not supposed to see that stuff. Only our kids are.— Dr. Matt Walsh, Women\u2019s Studies Scholar (@Dr. Matt Walsh, Women\u2019s Studies Scholar) 1650388080
Republican Senate candidate J.D. Vance wrote, "Bezos's mouthpiece (the Washington Post) doxxing Libs of Tik Tok is further evidence that the purpose of the corporate media is industrial scale harassment. Time for defamation reform for the media, and to break up their Big Tech enablers."
Bezos's mouthpiece (the Washington Post) doxxing Libs of Tik Tok is further evidence that the purpose of the corporate media is industrial scale harassment. \n\nTime for defamation reform for the media, and to break up their Big Tech enablers.— J.D. Vance (@J.D. Vance) 1650373016
Journalist Avi Yemini tweeted, "This was Taylor Lorenz a couple of weeks ago. She was crying victim of 'harassment.' Today she tracked down and harassed family members of the @libsoftiktok account for an article she’s working on. It turns out Taylor’s the perpetrator, not victim."
This was Taylor Lorenz a couple of weeks ago.\n\nShe was crying victim of "harassment\u201d.\n\nToday she tracked down and harassed family members of the @libsoftiktok account for an article she\u2019s working on.\n\nIt turns out Taylor\u2019s the perpetrator, not victim.pic.twitter.com/CifXGvASCV— Avi Yemini (@Avi Yemini) 1650332637
The comments continue to roll in at the time of this reporting.
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