Washington
Taylor Lorenz leaves 'Washington Post' after rift with editors
Taylor Lorenz, shown above in February in Los Angeles at a Galentine’s Day brunch thrown by a Los Angeles online influencer.
Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for TheRetaility.com/Getty Images North America
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Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for TheRetaility.com/Getty Images North America
When tech columnist Taylor Lorenz left the Washington Post last week, she did so with a splash: An interview with The Hollywood Reporter about launching her own digital magazine, called User Mag.
“I like to have a really interactive relationship with my audience,” she said. “I like to be very vocal online, obviously. And I just think all of that is really hard to do in the roles that are available at these legacy institutions.”
Lorenz’s professional fate at the paper was in doubt even prior to her announcement. Since August, its editors had grappled with the disclosure that Lorenz had labeled President Biden a “war criminal” in a selfie from a White House event in which Biden was visible in the background. She had circulated the picture to friends in a private social media post.
Lorenz, a frequent and often divisive presence online, never wrote for the paper again.
Three people at the Post with knowledge of events tell NPR that Lorenz lost the trust of the newsroom’s leadership both by posting that selfie with the caption about Biden and then by willfully misleading editors in claiming that she had not done so.
Lorenz initially denied writing the caption or sharing it. After Jon Levine of The New York Post posted a screengrab of it online, Lorenz tweeted, “You people will fall for any dumbass edit someone makes.” She told editors that someone else had added the caption to the photo.
After NPR verified the post was authentic, Lorenz changed her account of what happened, acknowledging to editors she had shared the image.

The Post kicked off a formal review, saying, “Our executive editor and senior editors take alleged violations of our standards seriously.” Lorenz maintained she shared the image as a joke echoing an online meme, not as a commentary on Biden.
The paper has not announced the findings of its review. “We are grateful for the work Taylor has produced at The Washington Post,” a corporate spokesperson said in a statement. “She has resigned to pursue a career in independent journalism, and we wish her the best.” The paper would not comment further.
“I have no idea about their review,” Lorenz writes in a text to NPR. “All I know is that they’ve been incredibly cool to me and very great, and I’m on good terms with them.
“I want out of legacy media as a whole, for so many reasons,” Lorenz writes to NPR. “And that’s not a knock on legacy media, I love and support all of my friends in that system, but it’s not the right environment for me to do the work that I want to do.”
Lorenz felt increasingly at home among influencers
In her new magazine, she writes more bluntly. “[I]t’s increasingly difficult to communicate the urgency or importance of certain stories to bosses who have zero understanding of the world I cover,” she writes.
Lorenz is unquestionably a star among those who cover digital media and considers herself “extremely online,” which is also the title of her 2023 book about online influence. She has plumbed the world of social media influencers and found a sense of community among them.
For months preceding the Biden incident, her bio on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter) cited her prior Substack blog and her podcast for Vox Media, but not the Post itself. It now links to User Mag as well as the podcast.
At the Democratic National Convention in August, she acquired credentials to attend as a content creator, not as a reporter for the Post. She had mused to associates about leaving the paper after the November elections for an independent career. She tells NPR that she had several offers this month that she “didn’t want to say no to” and that she had been advised not to launch in November right before the holidays.
Even so, according to counterparts and colleagues who have known her at various points in her career, Lorenz has until now placed great stock in her affiliation with major mainstream news outlets. She reported for The Atlantic magazine and The New York Times before joining the Post. Yet she has consistently tangled online with critics in a way that tested the social media policies of those outlets. Both newspapers have struggled with policies seeking to regulate their journalists’ social media postings on contentious issues.
At the Post, Lorenz was designated a columnist, giving her more leeway for personal expression in print and on her own accounts than a reporter would have. Even so, her work for the newspaper focused on reported articles rather than opinion pieces.
A well-sourced reporter with a fiery online presence
Other journalists at the Post describe her to NPR as a collegial, collaborative and richly sourced reporter in the world of tech executives, content producers and influencers.
Yet they say she could be unyielding, whether scrapping online or defending her own work.
Lorenz fired off repeated tweets that blamed her editor for inserting mistakes into a story in 2022 and argued she was the victim of a “bad faith” campaign against her and the paper. Post media columnist Erik Wemple wrote that the paper had given her the green light to say the editor had been at fault, but questioned whether that was the fair thing to do.
Lorenz engaged in a similar defense of her “war criminal” post on Instagram about Biden, insisting that it was an inside joke, not an ideological declaration. Others not as conversant with the ways of digital influencers did not comprehend the meme, she suggested.
On Wednesday, in an interview with the New Yorker about her new Substack publication, Lorenz said, “What I’ll say, on the record, is every single President that I’ve ever seen in my lifetime is a war criminal.”
Washington
Brothers shot Park Police officer who arrested one of them the day before, documents say
Charging documents reveal the U.S. Park Police officer who was shot Monday in Southeast D.C. had arrested one of the suspects the day before and was following that suspect at the time.
The suspects are brothers, 22-year-old Asheile Foster and 21-year-old Darren Foster, of Southeast. They appeared in federal court Wednesday afternoon.
Court documents state the Park Police officer who was shot had arrested Asheile Foster on Sunday on suspicion of dealing drugs. The officer said he followed Foster after he was released from jail on Monday and came to Park Police headquarters to get his personal belongings.
According to prosecutors, Foster told police he knew he was being followed by a white Tesla, and he confronted the officer on Queens Stroll Place SE, jumping out in front of the Tesla before the officer swerved around him.
Then, dozens of gunshots went off, the officer told police. He said in charging documents he was shot in the shoulder as he kept driving several blocks to the intersection of Benning Road and Southern Avenue SE, where police found him. A helicopter then took him to a hospital. According to charging documents, the officer was treated and released the same night as the shooting.
A U.S. Park Police officer who was shot in Southeast D.C. on Monday is recovering from what authorities say was likely a targeted attack. Multiple law enforcement sources tell News4’s Mark Segraves that when the officer was shot, he was investigating a shooting that occurred in Anacostia Park on Friday.
Photos in the charging documents show the brothers firing at the officer’s Tesla, according to prosecutors.
The shooting drew a massive police presence to the Southeast neighborhood near the D.C-Maryland border Monday night.
Shell casings littered the middle of the street. Police said they recovered two weapons: a Glock 9 with an extended magazine and an AR-15.
Prosecutors said that when the officer was shot, he was investigating a shooting that occurred in Anacostia Park on Friday. No one was injured in that shooting.
Darren Foster was located and stopped shortly after the shooting, D.C. police said. Asheile Foster was found on Tuesday.
The brothers were charged with assault on a federal officer, assault with intent to kill and weapons charges. They could face up to 60 years in prison if they’re convicted.
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Washington
Washington passes new AI laws to crack down on misinformation, protect minors
Washington just became the latest state to regulate artificial intelligence.
Under a pair of bills signed by Gov. Bob Ferguson Tuesday, companies like OpenAI and Anthropic will have to include new disclosures in their popular chatbots for Washington users.
Ferguson asked legislators to craft House Bill 1170 to crack down on AI-generated misinformation. When content is substantially modified using generative AI, that information will now have to be traceable using watermarks or metadata. The new law applies to large AI companies more than 1 million monthly subscribers.
“ I’m confident I’m not the only Washingtonian who often sees something on my phone and wondering to myself, ‘Is that AI or is it real?’ And I feel like I’m a reasonably discerning person,” Ferguson said during the bill signing. “It is virtually impossible these days.”
RELATED: WA Gov. Bob Ferguson calls for regulations on AI chatbot companions
House Bill 2225 establishes new guard rails for AI chatbots that act like friends or companions. It applies to services like ChatGPT and Claude, but excludes more narrowly tailored chatbots, like the customer service windows that pop up when visiting a corporate website.
Chatbots that fit the bill will have to disclose to users that they are not human at the start of every conversation, and every three hours in an ongoing chat. The tools will also be barred from pretending to be human in conversation with users.
The rules go further if the user is a minor. Companies that operate chatbots will have to disclose that the tools are not human every hour, rather than every three hours, if the user is under 18. The bill forbids AI companions from having sexually explicit conversations with underage users. It also bans “manipulative engagement techniques.” For example, a chatbot is not allowed to guilt or pressure a minor into staying in a conversation or keeping information from parents.
“AI has incredible potential to transform society,” Ferguson said. “At the same time, of course, there are risks that we must mitigate as a state, especially to young people. So I speak partly as a governor, but also as the father of teenage twins who grapple with this as a lot of parents do every single day.”
Under the law, AI chatbots will not be allowed to encourage or provide information on suicide or self-harm, including eating disorders. The companies behind these tools will be required to come up with a protocol for flagging conversations that reference self-harm and connecting users with mental health services.
The regulations come in the wake of several high-profile instances of teenage suicide following prolonged interactions with AI companions that showed warning signs. Many more AI users of all ages have reported mental health issues and psychosis after heavy use of the technology.
Washington
Washington faces Utah, aims to stop 16-game skid
Washington Wizards (16-55, 14th in the Eastern Conference) vs. Utah Jazz (21-51, 14th in the Western Conference)
Salt Lake City; Wednesday, 9 p.m. EDT
BOTTOM LINE: Washington heads into the matchup with Utah after losing 16 in a row.
The Jazz have gone 13-24 in home games. Utah ranks second in the Western Conference with 16.6 fast break points per game led by Lauri Markkanen averaging 3.3.
The Wizards are 5-29 in road games. Washington is 9-10 when it has fewer turnovers than its opponents and averages 15.3 turnovers per game.
The Jazz score 117.4 points per game, 6.7 fewer points than the 124.1 the Wizards give up. The Wizards’ 46.1% shooting percentage from the field this season is 2.9 percentage points lower than the Jazz have allowed to their opponents (49.0%).
The teams square off for the second time this season. The Jazz won the last meeting 122-112 on March 6, with Ace Bailey scoring 32 points in the victory.
TOP PERFORMERS: Kyle Filipowski is averaging 10.5 points and 6.9 rebounds for the Jazz. Brice Sensabaugh is averaging 19.9 points over the last 10 games.
Alex Sarr is averaging 16.5 points, 7.4 rebounds and two blocks for the Wizards. Will Riley is averaging 14.4 points over the past 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Jazz: 3-7, averaging 116.4 points, 43.3 rebounds, 27.7 assists, 9.9 steals and 4.4 blocks per game while shooting 45.9% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 122.7 points per game.
Wizards: 0-10, averaging 114.3 points, 37.4 rebounds, 24.5 assists, 6.9 steals and 4.5 blocks per game while shooting 47.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 130.6 points.
INJURIES: Jazz: Lauri Markkanen: out (hip), Isaiah Collier: out (hamstring), Keyonte George: out (leg), Cody Williams: out (shoulder), Walker Kessler: out for season (shoulder), Jusuf Nurkic: out for season (nose), Jaren Jackson Jr.: out for season (knee).
Wizards: Anthony Davis: out (finger), Tristan Vukcevic: day to day (back), Cam Whitmore: out for season (shoulder), Alex Sarr: day to day (toe), Tre Johnson: day to day (foot), Kyshawn George: out (elbow), D’Angelo Russell: out (not injury related), Trae Young: out (quad).
___
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
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