Washington Post reporter leaves paper after Instagram post calling Joe Biden a ‘war criminal’

Taylor Lorenz, a columnist on internet culture, was under investigation by bosses after the post in which she can be seen at the White House

A Washington Post reporter who called Joe Biden a “war criminal” in an Instagram post has left the paper.
Taylor Lorenz, a columnist on internet culture, was under investigation by bosses after the “close friends” post in which she can be seen at the White House, with the president in the background and the caption “war criminal”, was shared online by a New York Post reporter.
Lorenz, author of Extremely Online, said she is launching a newsletter, “User Mag,” on Substack and will be leaving her role at The Washington Post in order to focus fully on the new project.
“I will pursue the type of reporting on the internet that has become increasingly difficult to do in corporate media,” she wrote on Substack.
After the New York Post reporter’s screenshot was circulated, Lorenz posted a message saying “you people will fall for any dumbass edit someone makes.”
Taylor Lorenz of the Washington Post calls President Biden a “war criminal” 👀👀 pic.twitter.com/ih0xWPw049
NPR subsequently wrote that four people with direct knowledge of the post confirmed that it was authentic. 
Lorenz also later wrote on X, formerly Twitter, saying: “I literally never denied that it was real” in response to a user’s post about the incident. She claimed the post was a reference to a popular meme.
The Washington Post said it would review the matter, with no stories featuring her byline published since the August incident.
“We are grateful for the work Taylor has produced at The Washington Post,” a newspaper spokesperson said. “She has resigned to pursue a career in independent journalism, and we wish her the best.”
The Post did not immediately address the findings of its review of the columnist, who had been at the paper for two and a half years. Lorenz was contacted for comment by The Telegraph.
Previously she worked as a technology reporter for the New York Times.
Lorenz wrote Tuesday that she hopes her new Substack will focus on how people use technology, as opposed to “corporate earnings and boardroom conflicts.”
“By going independent, I hope to do more of what I love: helping people understand the world around them, inspiring them to build a better internet, holding power to account and, hopefully, having a lot more fun,” she wrote.
Lorenz said she is launching User Magazine to “get out of legacy media”.
“I feel like it’s just really, really difficult to do the kind of reporting that I want to do on the internet within these kind of older institutions as a primary job,” she told The Hollywood Reporter. “I like to have a really interactive relationship with my audience. 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 continued: “I just want complete autonomy to write and do and say whatever I want, and engage a little bit more directly with my readers, with the public, when it comes to my work.”