Hate-fuelled Libs of TikTok page suspended from Facebook: ‘Your move Twitter’
The logo of the controversial media pages Libs of TikTok. (@libsoftiktok/Twitter)
Notorious anti-LGBTQ+ page Libs of TikTok was temporarily banned on Facebook and the person behind it locked out of the account.
The right-wing platform is notorious for directing its followers to pro-LGBTQ+ “liberals” – who owner Chaya Raichik often calls – who are then routinely harassed.
Just this week, a Boston hospital reported receiving death threats after a “misinformation” campaign by the account.
Raichik posted on the Libs of TikTok Twitter account in the late hours of Wednesday (17 August) saying that Facebook “just suspended our account”.
She said there was “no reason given”, but share a suspension notification saying that the account did not follow Facebook guidelines.
The ban notification stated that the account did not follow Facebook’s “community standards.”
Around an hour later, Raichik followed up, saying that she “immediately appealed” the suspension and was told that the account was “suspended for good.”
Later, she said the Facebook page had been put back up, but that her access was still restricted and, according to Raichik, was “last told that it’s permanent.”
https://twitter.com/libsoftiktok/status/1560069588993224704
After the back-and-forth, it was back to work as usual for the account on Twitter – work as usual being attacking LGBTQ+ people and their allies.
It shared a video of Yale Pediatric Gender Program (YPGP) director Christy Olezeski explaining how the program helps gender-diverse individuals through their transition, which instigated calls from Raichik’s followers to imprison Olezeski.
Meanwhile, pro-LGBTQ+ advocates rejoiced at the news of Raichik’s suspension, with one user saying that “Twitter must follow” Facebook’s action.
“When even Meta steps in to act, you know it’s bad, your move [Twitter Safety],” another wrote.
Annnd LibsOfTikTok's Facebook page is live. Their Facebook permaban was not "for good," as they said, after all. pic.twitter.com/bAujMoGhju
— Tim Onion (@oneunderscore__) August 18, 2022
While supporters say that Libs of TikTok is merely a “public information” account that reposts content already available, the account’s followers are rabidly anti-LGBTQ+ and routinely attack individuals whose content is shared.
The account also shares memes that are specifically anti-LGBTQ+ and tends to retweet from far-right sources, including the self-proclaimed ‘theocratic fascist’ Matt Walsh.
Who is Chaya Raichik?
Raichik also has far more of a reach than some may expect. After being exposed as the person behind Libs of TikTok in a Washington Post article, it was discovered that Raichik has a long-running online friendship with Florida Republican Ron DeSantis’ press secretary Christina Pushaw.
It was also revealed in a 24 March Twitter thread that Pushaw credited Raichik’s account for “opening her eyes” to teachers “discussing “sex, sexuality, and LGBT issues.”
A few days later on 28 March, DeSantis would sign the reviled Parental Rights in Education Bill that aims to suppress the discussion of LGBTQ+ issues in schools, also known as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, into law.
