How Chaya Raichik, the woman behind Libs of TikTok, rose to fame as a right-wing figure

Between November 2020 and April 2021, Raichik tried out a few different avenues and usernames for her Twitter account, including @cuomomustgo, where she called for the resignation of Andrew Cuomo as the governor of New York, and @houseplantpotus, where she acted as a parody of president Joe Biden.

On April 19, 2021, she changed her handle to @libsoftiktok and said she would provide "your daily dose of cringe."

From then, Raichik started reposting and compilating content from TikTok users, mostly those in the LGBTQ community and mocked them in the captions. She quickly found supporters in Tucker Carlson of Fox News, podcaster Joe Rogan, Donald Trump Jr., journalist Glenn Greenwald, and television host Laura Ingraham.

While Raichik's username includes the platform TikTok, her account has been permanently suspended. She has also been given multiple temporary suspensions from Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

Raichik has made many statements against the LGBTQ community, referring to them as a "cult" and likening them to "groomers."

In an interview with the New York Post in February, Raichik said she had gotten several teachers fired from schools after reposting their content on her account, citing their decisions to teach sex education.

"It's not easy. I really do feel bad," she said. "Sometimes it breaks my heart, but it has to be done. These kids are so innocent, and they don't deserve to go to school to get groomed and indoctrinated."

Before April, Raichik had been anonymous until Taylor Lorenz reported her identity and job as a real estate agent in The Washington Post.

Lorenz reported that Raichik was spreading anti-LGBTQ rhetoric and becoming a prominent figure on the right. She noted Raichik's influence in getting teachers fired. She also reported on Raichik's old Twitter account, where she would interact with other right-wing figures, minimize the effects of COVID-19, spread doubt over election results, and share other conspiracies.

In response, Raichik said she had been "doxxed" by Lorenz — revealing someone's personal information, address, contact details, or location. However, others disagreed. Kara Alaimo, a professor of social media and women's issues, wrote for NBC that "there's no justifiable reason to protect the identity of someone like Raichik on social media."

"The public has a significant interest in knowing who is behind accounts that have major influence on public discourse about important issues, like Libs of TikTok," she said.

Raichik has repeatedly expressed her concerns with drag performers interacting with children, and in June, posted the locations of several all-ages drag shows around the US. One of them, an hour later, was invaded by the far-right extremist group, the Proud Boys.

An Alameda County Sheriff's Office spokesman told the Washington Post that investigations believe Libs of TikTok spurred on the invasion.

Later that month, Libs of TikTok posted about another drag event at a bar in California, where the Proud Boys appeared again, yelled slurs, and tried to break in. In October, the group showed up to protest a drag brunch she had posted about.

Raichik said in June, she had subsequently received multiple death threats, including a warning of a pipe bomb being thrown into her house.

In August, Raichik tweeted about the transgender care provided at Boston Children's hospital and claimed it was offering "gender-affirming hysterectomies," which led to medical staff receiving threats.

The hospital released a statement, saying Raichik's tweets were "fueled by misinformation and a lack of understanding and respect" and hysterectomies as part of gender-affirming care were never performed on someone under the age of 18.

Libs of TikTok has posted about many more hospitals that offer gender-affirming care, which she has described in her Substack newsletter as "mutilating the body."

Libs of TikTok has interacted with Twitter's new CEO, Elon Musk.

In April, he "liked" one of Raichik's tweets where she shared an article from the satirical conservative Christian website The Babylon Bee, titled "Liberals Raise Concerns About Account That's Making Them Look Bad By Just Sharing Their Actual Words."

In November, when Musk began axing thousands of employees at Twitter, Libs of TikTok mocked a former staff member in a tweet, and Musk replied.

Raichik has not received any suspensions since Musk took over the company.

Raichik appeared on December 27 on "Tucker Carlson Today," a show on the Fox News streaming service Fox Nation, and showed her face for the first time.

She told Carlson she wanted to start doing in-person events because she was "ready for the next step."

During the interview, Raichik highlighted her anti-LGBTQ sentiments, calling the community a "cult" whose members "brainwash people."

Raichik also said that someone from Gov. DeSantis' team called her after the Washington Post revealed her identity.

"She said, 'The governor wanted me to give you a message. He said if you don't feel safe, you or your family, if you need a place to go, to hide, to stay, you can come to the governor's mansion,'" Raichik said. "She said, 'We have a guest house for you, and you can come and stay as long as you need.'"

Despite unwavering support from the right, Raichik's interview made her vulnerable.

After just a few hours, she appeared to have been spotted in videos from the US Capitol on January 6. Extremism and disinformation researcher Chad Loder documented videos and images in their newsletter and said it had persuaded them that Raichik was there.

They noted screenshots of a Twitter account, shaya_ray, which software developer Travis Brown identified in April to be associated with Raichik, which appeared to show her describing heading to DC that day.

"I am taking off work to come support Trump," one now-deleted tweet said. "Every single supporter matters."

Raichik's apparent face is also seen in videos from GoPro footage and TikToks. Loder noted that there was no evidence of Raichik doing any more than joining the crowds outside the Capitol.