Conservative media clout-chaser busted for staging photo of her helping board up storefront
We are living through a defining moment in American history, one that seeks to reconcile the horrors of our past and present with how (or if) we can move forward as a nation. It requires courage, compassion, honesty, solidarity, and selflessness. It does not require clout chasers, social media grifters, and liars masquerading as truth seekers. Case in point: This proclaimed member of conservative media who got caught posing as if she were helping local stores rebuild after recent protests.
This is Fiona Moriarty-McLaughlin, who bills herself as an intern with the Washington Examiner just “chasing the facts.” She is known to say things like, “People don’t have the facts. People call Trump a racist, xenophobic, homophobic, and they have no facts to back that up ever. It’s a group type of ideology.”Apparently, this includes repurposing videos of vandalism to falsely blame antifa and Black Lives Matter protestors.
On Monday night, the New York Times’ Taylor Lorenz shared a video—originally posted by the_real_los_angeles Instagram—of Moriarty-McLaughlin’s boyfriend snapping a photo of her pretending to help a man board up a storefront to, presumably, help boost her conservative activist cred. She immediately returns to her car once the photo is taken, offering a half-hearted thank you to the man actually boarding up the business.
It wasn’t long before notable names like LeBron James, Ava DuVernay, and Pink condemned the footage.
Moriarty-McLaughlin has heard the criticism, apparently. Head to her Twitter now and you’ll get a message reading, “This account doesn’t exist.” This comes after she made her account private last night.
In summary, be a compassionate, honest human being right now. Not this.
Looking for ways to advocate for black lives? Check out this list of resources by our sister site Lifehacker for ways to get involved
Send Great Job, Internet tips to [email protected]