Chaya Raichik rages over ADL listing Libs of TikTok among terrorist organisations
Libs of TikTok founder Chaya Raichik. (YouTube)
Libs of TikTok creator Chaya Raichik has expressed her fury at the group being included in the Anti-Defamation League’s (ADL) Glossary of Extremism.
The anti-LGBTQ+ pundit, who reposts content created by left-wing and LGBTQ+ people on TikTok – alongside hostile commentary – has become a leading influencer and sounding board for the hard-right.
Taking to X, previously called Twitter, on Tuesday (24 October,) Raichik wrote that “Enough is enough” and called on the ADL to immediately remove her name from the glossary.
“Not only have they defamed me,” she continued, “they also lumped me in with terrorist organisations like Hamas. They have until Oct 31st to remove this defamatory entry before I’m forced to take more action.”
In a statement to PinkNews, a spokesperson for the ADL said the organisation is “aware of her demands and are investigating” but will “not comment on matters regarding actual or threatened litigation”.
Libs of TikTok has become controversial for pushing conspiracy theories and misinformation about LGBTQ+ youth, as well as this through its reposting of content that has resulted in teachers, medical professionals and venues facing campaigns of harassment from right-wingers.
Perhaps most controversially, last year, the account shared incorrect information about Boston’s Children’s Hospital, saying it performed gender-affirming hysterectomies on people under the age of 18.
The hospital debunked the “false” claims and said that since Libs of TikTok’s posts, they had become the “target of a large volume of hostile internet activity, phone calls and harassing emails, including threats of violence towards our clinicians and staff”.
The situation, however, did not end there. The following month, a bomb threat was made against the hospital, resulting in a lockdown of the facility and local police sending a specialist squad to check the building.
Catherine Leavy, 37, was subsequently arrested in relation to making the hoax threat. Court documents revealed she called the hospital and said: ”There is a bomb on the way… you better evacuate everybody, you sickos.”
Last month, she pleaded guilty to one count of making a false bomb threat and one count of intentionally conveying false or misleading information that a bomb was on the way to Boston Children’s Hospital. She faces up to 15 years in prison and/or fines totalling a possible $500,000 (£413,750). She is due to be sentenced in March.
Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based on US sentencing guidelines and statutes.
The ADL’s Glossary of Extremism was launched in March to provide a “comprehensive guide to extremist lingo, publications and tactics”.
The first-of-its-kind interactive and searchable database features more than 900 terms and concepts employed by extremist organisations and movements, such as white supremacists, militant Islamist groups, eco-terrorists and incels.
“Many extremist groups have developed their own nomenclature and language to communicate, and the public is often not familiar with many of the terms they and their followers are using,” Jonathan Greenblatt, ADL’s chief executive, said when the database was launched.
“This glossary pulls back the curtain to reveal the meaning behind these names and concepts, giving the public, the media and law enforcement insight into hundreds of terms, ideologies and conspiracy theories embraced by domestic extremists.
“It also provides a who’s who of the key figures involved in spreading hate.”
