"Despicable": Alarm after Oklahoma Republican appoints "Libs of TikTok" creator

[Jessica_Rose]

"Despicable": Alarm after Oklahoma Republican appoints "Libs of TikTok" creator to library committee

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/despicable-alarm-after-oklahoma-republican-appoints-libs-of-tiktok-creator-to-library-committee/ar-BB1hIbIn?cvid=04ee1eee0e364452a124d41ba0bcf57e&ei=10

Story by Areeba Shah (3 Feb 2024)

Chaya Raichik, who has faced accusations of instigating bomb threats against schools for spreading anti-LGBTQ+ grooming conspiracies, has been appointed to a state library committee in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

The creator of "Libs of TikTok" is known for spreading anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric and propagating baseless accusations that educational institutions are "indoctrinating" children into LGBTQ+ identities and exposing them to sexually explicit content.

Despite her rhetoric being associated with inciting violence, the head of the state Education Department appointed her to the agency's Library Media Advisory Committee.

Given her "track record," including Raichik's links to bomb threats and her "threatening behavior" towards the LGBTQ+ community, her presence must feel "scary" for students and educators, Heidi Beirich, co-founder of the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism, told Salon.

"It's probably going to have a chilling effect on what teachers teach, given they won't want to be targeted online by Raichik," Beirich said. "It's also just a despicable thing to appoint someone so hateful towards a community."

State Rep. Mickey Dollens, the Democratic Whip for the Oklahoma House of Representatives, has described this move as an "egregious example" of elected officials trying to divert the public's attention away from real issues to "stoke division and gain national notoriety."