The founder of Libs of TikTok" responded Friday to criticisms from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez during this week's House hearing on censorship that featured former Twitter executive Yoel Roth, among other witnesses.
Ocasio-Cortez used the hearing to attack the popular Twitter account. She particularly went after Libs of TikTok for sharing videos regarding Boston Children’s Hospital's gender transition procedures for minors.
Ocasio-Cortez asked Roth about posts from Libs of TikTok – which is run by Chaya Raichik – including one featuring a purported medical expert from a children's hospital discussing transgender surgery for minors. She focused on a post that included the discussion about "gender-affirming hysterectomies" and "top surgery," or mastectomies.
"Are you aware from — that from August 11th to August 16th that account posted false information about Boston Children’s Hospital claiming that they were providing hysterectomies to children?" she asked Roth.
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"Yes, I am aware of that and other claims from the account," the former Twitter Head of Trust and Safety responded.
After AOC deemed that Libs of TikTok posted a "lie" that was "circulated by other prominent far-right influencers," she said the information led to "real life harassment and ultimately a bomb threat" to Boston Children's Hospital.
On "Tucker Carlson Tonight," host Tucker Carlson cited Roth, whom he dubbed the social media platforms onetime "chief censor," and noted Raichik does not engage in commentary on her account, but only re-posts liberals in their own words, which often ignites scorn directed at them.
"I believe that AOC and Yoel Roth were mad that people were able to see the truth," she said.
"It's very concerning that they're more upset about people knowing that these surgeries are happening to children than the fact that these children are getting these surgeries," Raichik added. "I mean, children are being sterilized and mutilated across the country in a lot of hospitals, and they're just more mad that we know about it."
Carlson noted one of the media posted by Raichik on the subject came from Boston Children's Hospital, which applauded itself on its website as being the "first pediatric and adolescent transgender health program in the United States."
The Gender Multispecialty Service (GeMS) at Boston Children's has cared for more than 1,000 families to date," the hospital said.
However, the hospital also denied, in another section of its website, that it engages in gender-affirming hysterectomies on minors.
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"Gender-affirming hysterectomies (including ovarian-sparing hysterectomies and hysterectomies done in coordination with phalloplasty [and] metoidioplasty).
"We only perform gender-affirming hysterectomies on patients who are age 18 or older," it added in bold type.
Raichik said the entire hearing displayed "very concerning" assertions about government officials she said were working with the FBI and Big Tech to censor those who "dared speak the truth."
"And the truth is that the truth is not hateful or harmful or dangerous like they claim," she said. "[Critics] like to label me a terrorist. It's just the truth is inconvenient to them, and that's why they want to silence it."
"If me posting a publicly available video from Boston Children's Hospital [leads me to be] responsible somehow for a bomb threat, then [Ocasio-Cortez] criticizing me on the House floor would make her responsible for all the death threats that I receive. Right?" Raichik added.
"I mean, it has to go both ways, but it obviously doesn't. And it only goes one way. And I receive a lot of death threats. I've had people showing up to my home and no, I do not get bodyguards paid for by the government."
