Washington Post’s Taylor Lorenz says Biden ‘war criminal’ post was ‘obvious meme’ after claiming it was edited

Washington Post columnist Taylor Lorenz is changing her story after initially claiming her “war criminal” post about President Biden was edited.

Lorenz went viral on Thursday after a screenshot of an Instagram post obtained by New York Post reporter Jon Levine showed her taking a selfie at a White House event with Biden in the background with the caption that read “war criminal” along with a frowny face.

“You people will fall for any dumba– edit someone makes,” Lorenz replied to Levine on X.

On Friday, Lorenz not only admitted it was real, she insisted it was a joke. 

“I literally never ‘denied it was real,’” Lorenz told one critic on X. She told another that it was an “obvious meme.”

There had been speculation online that Lorenz was making an obscure reference to musician Lucy Dacus, who called former President Obama a “war criminal” on social media last year, also with a frowny face.

Fox News Digital learned that the post was made in an Instagram story specifically using the “close friends” feature as indicated by the green star icon, meaning it was not posted publicly and could only have been seen by a select group of Instagram users of her choosing.

NPR previously reported that “four people with direct knowledge” of the post “confirmed its authenticity.”

“Only about 7 people saw the actual close friends post (I have very few people on CF) and almost all are my normie non-media friends. So [I don’t know] who this guy is talking about [to be honest],” Lorenz reacted to NPR’s reporting.

A spokesperson for The Washington Post previously told Fox News Digital, “We’re aware of the alleged social media post and are looking into it” and has not commented further.

Lorenz did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

Biden has been repeatedly attacked by the far-left for his handling of the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas, with many deriding him as “Genocide Joe” for continuing to provide military aid to the Jewish State following the Oct. 7 terrorist attack. Lorenz, known for her far-left opinions, is a fierce critic of Israel.

Lorenz has a long history of sparking controversy on social media, as well as in her reporting tactics.