Chaya Raichik, ‘Libs of TikTok’ Creator, on Classroom Indoctrination and TikTok ‘Narcissists’
“I think gender ideology, in general, is very narcissistic … It’s like, ‘These are my pronouns. This is my gender. Let me talk to you about how I want to be referred to and how you should refer to me,’ says Chaya Raichik, creator of the viral Twitter account “Libs of TikTok.”
“And the whole idea of an app, where you go online and you just film yourself talking … I think that it’s a really good match—those activists and TikTok—because TikTok is really a platform for narcissists.”
Raichik was doxxed in a controversial Washington Post article last year, and since then, she has embraced her public persona.
“I’m a Hasidic Jew. There’s a concept in Judaism that every single person is in this world for a reason. Every person has a purpose … Through running Libs of TikTok, I feel like this is my mission now. And I’m very empowered to continue doing it,” says Raichik.
Raichik and I discuss wokeness and indoctrination in the American education system, and dive into why Libs of TikTok has been so effective, having resulted in new legislation and even in the termination of school officials who promoted gender ideology or grooming in their classrooms.
“They create this content, and then I put it out there in their own words. And they don’t really want us to see it. They want to just live in their bubble, where everybody agrees with them. So, I’m posting this content and they just can’t handle it,” says Raichik. “My account really is just centered on protecting the innocence of children. That’s the main focus.”
Interview trailer:
Watch the full interview: https://www.theepochtimes.com/chaya-raichik-libs-of-tiktok-creator-on-classroom-indoctrination-and-tiktok-narcissists_5021412.html
FULL TRANSCRIPT
Jan Jekielek:
Chaya Raichik, such a pleasure to have you on “American Thought Leaders”.
Chaya Raichik:
It’s so great to be here. Thank you for having me.
Mr. Jekielek:
As many of us have, I’ve been following your account, LibsofTikTok, for quite some time. There were many times when it was actually unavailable for a whole suite of reasons. The first thing I want to ask you is, when these Twitter files came out, and when Elon Musk took over Twitter and these Twitter files came out, what was your reaction to what you were seeing?
Ms. Raichik:
It was a very emotional night when I saw the Twitter files, but my first reaction was I just felt entirely vindicated. Because for months I had been growing my LibsofTikTok Twitter account, and I knew I wasn’t violating the rules. I was very careful to follow their guidelines, and I kept getting suspended. It was so frustrating. It seemed like every other week I was getting another suspension. And then, the Twitter files came out, and the Twitter employees were saying that I never violated the rules and they were just looking for any excuse to silence me. So, I felt vindicated. It was a great feeling. I know that a lot of other people also were mentioned in the Twitter files, and I’m really happy for them, because it really meant a lot.
Mr. Jekielek:
Why do you think your account was getting so much attention?
Ms. Raichik:
I think LibsofTikTok is really effective. We just showcase what the Left themselves are saying, and their views don’t hold up to scrutiny. They create this content and then I put it out there in their own words and they don’t really want us to see it. They want to just live in their bubble where everybody agrees with them. So, I’m posting this content and they just can’t handle it.
Mr. Jekielek:
But you do provide commentary on some of these, and some of it’s pretty pointed. I’ve been scrolling your feed recently.
Ms. Raichik:
As far as the actual videos, there’s no editing. As far as the commentary, it is very, very minimal commentary. It is probably the least commentary you’ll see from any account my size.
Mr. Jekielek:
How often do you get people sending you content?
Ms. Raichik:
My content now is sort of half and half. Half is what I find, and half is what people send to me. I get a lot of messages. I get hundreds a day. I have desperate parents who want me to help them expose the wokeness in their schools. I have people sending me TikToks sometimes. My platform really is about giving a voice to people who don’t have a platform. I’m able to share the stories of a lot of really concerned citizens.
Mr. Jekielek:
That’s amazing. Do you do this all alone? Do you have a team now or how does this work?
Ms. Raichik:
Pretty much just me. I basically spend all day, every day, going through all of my messages, and going through TikTok, and choosing what to post and how. A lot of the stories require research. I do have someone helping me a little bit part-time. But hopefully, we will expand.
Mr. Jekielek:
You did different things with your Twitter account before you seemed to settle on LibsofTikTok. I want to talk about the evolution of that. What was your thinking?
Ms. Raichik:
I joined Twitter, honestly, just for Trump, because his tweets were really funny. We all missed the mean tweets. I joined Twitter for that, and I was just starting to get into politics. It was during COVID, and then I stumbled across TikTok. I saw all of this really bizarre content, and I was like, “I need to show this to people, people need to see this, people need to see what’s going on.” So, I started posting the videos to Twitter. That’s really how LibsofTikTok started. And then, I changed the name to LibsofTikTok. It just came to me one day. I didn’t think about it too much, and the rest is history.
Mr. Jekielek:
When you started, you just wanted to consume content, and then you started experimenting with different things. I saw you had some health freedom-related things early on as well.
Ms. Raichik:
Yes. I wasn’t looking to go viral or to be famous. It was more just having fun. I had met some people through Twitter. We kind of would just change our usernames, and just have fun with some of the ideas that were floating during that time. I changed my username quite a few times before changing it to LibsofTikTok.
Mr. Jekielek:
As we go through this, I want to pull up a few posts that you made and get you to comment on them. Here’s one actually recently, January 16th, a teacher laughs about bringing political unrest in her school by pushing pronouns, showing up with purple hair, and mocking the Bible.
Video:
I have my first day as a sub today, and there are many things I would like to talk about, but today I would like to talk about how I am the political unrest that Cedar City needs. And I just realized that my hydroflask is in this video and that’s my “I Don’t Care What the Bible Says” sticker, which I forgot I left up at the front of the classroom when I was in the back office.
Mr. Jekielek:
How is it that you go about choosing these things?
Ms. Raichik:
I go to TikTok and I spend about 15 to 20 hours a week on TikTok. I have very high standards of quality for my content. In most of my content, I want to have a message. I’m not just laughing at people. All the videos have an underlying message. For this specific one and most of the ones that feature teachers, it’s really important to show what is going on in classrooms across America.
Mr. Jekielek:
What is it that you see on TikTok from these classrooms?
Ms. Raichik:
There is a lot of indoctrination and grooming going on in classrooms. TikTok, in general, is a cesspool for activists to target children. I think TikTok was designed to attract youth, and their algorithms are very sophisticated. It’s been discussed that it’s also sort of a weapon. TikTok is owned by China. It’s sort of a weapon to destroy us from within. So, TikTok is really the center for targeting kids with radical gender ideology.
Mr. Jekielek:
Explain to me what you mean by grooming, because this has become a controversial word.
Ms. Raichik:
Up until recently, if you wrote it on Twitter, then you were banned. Grooming is tearing down childhood innocence by confusing children with gender ideology, and about their identity. We’re seeing a lot of that in schools and in other institutions.
Mr. Jekielek:
Let’s talk about TikTok. On this show, we’ve extensively covered how TikTok does actually function as a weapon for the Chinese Communist Party, and may well be amplifying the types of things which foment social chaos for the benefit of the Chinese regime. For starters, you see a lot of what you describe as toxic content for 20 hours a week. How do you deal with that?
Ms. Raichik:
It’s tough sometimes, I’ll be honest. It’s very dark, it’s very depressing, it’s scary, but it’s so important. I push myself to scroll and to find content to show people what’s going on in classrooms. It’s not just teachers, it’s in every single field that we have these activists. In general, with the mental health crisis in America, I feature a lot of videos that show that.
Mr. Jekielek:
There are a few questions about these videos. Some people ask, and I’ve had this question myself, why are some of these folks admitting what they’re doing publicly on camera. They’re saying, “I’m doing something very subversive,” for example. A number of videos that you have featured talk about how they’re hiding things from parents. Why do you think people are posting these things?
Ms. Raichik:
TikTok attracts narcissists with the whole idea of an app where you go online and you just film yourself talking. Gender ideology in general is very narcissistic. It’s like, “These are my pronouns, this is my gender. Let me talk to you about how I want to be referred to and how you should refer to me.” It’s a really good match, those activists and TikTok, because TikTok is really a platform for narcissists. They love seeing themselves talking, and they love seeing themselves on camera. So, it’s perfect.
Mr. Jekielek:
Another thing you mentioned, you talked about gender ideology and LGBTQ. That’s not necessarily the same thing. There’s an account which seems somewhat aligned with what LibsofTikTok is doing called GazeAgainstGroomers. They would probably also say, “We’re part of the LGBTQ community.” But, they’re definitely against gender ideology. Do you ever communicate with folks like this?
Ms. Raichik:
Yes, I’ve been in contact with that account. They’re doing something really important and they don’t align with LGBTQ, I don’t think. They align with LGB. Their whole thing is LGB without the T, and obviously everything else that comes after that. That acronym just keeps getting longer. There’s a need for that, because there are a lot of people who are gay, and that’s fine. They just want to do that without being lumped in with all of the activists.
Mr. Jekielek:
I see. When you’re talking about this, you’re talking about the specific people that have this gender ideology orientation.
Ms. Raichik:
Exactly.
Mr. Jekielek:
I see. That’s interesting. It wasn’t necessarily obvious to me before. When it comes to TikTok, I had an interview with January Littlejohn, who’s daughter was socially transitioned in school, transitioned without her knowledge. One of the things that she talks about is these accounts on TikTok, where basically people encourage confused youth. “If you do all the things that will make you trans, follow the trans ideology, we’ll create this family for you, this very, warm, safe space.” Do you see this kind of content?
Ms. Raichik:
I see a lot of that content. They specifically target children who already have something else in their life which is bringing them down. There has been reporting how they target autistic children or they target kids from broken homes. They entice them, and they say, “Look, join our community. You’ll feel loved, you’ll feel accepted, you’ll get attention.”
So, they do prey on confused children, children who are struggling to begin with, and also, children struggling with gender dysphoria, which is a real struggle. I really feel for children who are struggling with that. Instead of helping these kids with their issues, they’re saying, “Oh, come join us. We’ll affirm you and you’ll only have love and acceptance.” So, it sounds good for a child.
Mr. Jekielek:
From what I understand from studies, most of that gender dysphoria will resolve on its own.
Ms. Raichik:
That’s what I believe. I’ve read a lot of similar studies, yes.
Mr. Jekielek:
I want to talk about your background, before Twitter and TikTok, back when you were in Brooklyn, and you were in real estate. You had a regular job, but then things changed.
Ms. Raichik:
I quit my job to run LibsofTikTok. I’m a Hasidic Jew and there’s a concept in Judaism that every single person is in this world for a reason. Every person has a purpose. I feel that through running “LibsofTikTok”, this is my mission now, and I’m very empowered to continue doing it.
Mr. Jekielek:
How is it that you ended up working with Seth Dillon?
Ms. Raichik:
Around the time that I was doxed, Seth reached out and he offered support. He shared how he believed in my mission, he believed in what I was doing, and he wanted to help me. So, we now work together. Seth is one of the most incredible people I’ve ever met, definitely the most incredible person I’ve ever worked with, and I’m so grateful to have him.
Mr. Jekielek:
Let’s talk about this doxing, because that’s when you definitely got a lot of attention. What happened there?
Ms. Raichik:
My account was anonymous, like most Twitter accounts, and then the far-Left media sent their little minion from the Washington Post to dox me. They thought that it would intimidate me into silence or scare me. Obviously, that was ever going to happen. Taylor Lorenz from the Washington Post shared my name and my location, and then obviously I wasn’t anonymous anymore.
It was very stressful, chaotic, overwhelming, and I never imagined this would happen. But the silver lining is LibsofTiktok’s influence skyrocketed. Our follower count tripled. We got so much bigger. The whole point of LibsofTikTok is just to show the content. If more people are seeing it, that’s a win. There are good things to come out of everything and that is one of them.
Mr. Jekielek:
The idea behind the account is that you just want people to see it, right? What do you think that accomplishes?
Ms. Raichik:
There’s a few things. Number one, when it comes to things like radical gender theory and critical race theory, we’ve been told by the far-Left that it’s not happening. The drag queen entertainment for children we’re told, “Oh, it’s not happening. These things are not happening. It’s a Right-wing conspiracy theory.” And then, I come in with firsthand evidence of teachers and drag queens talking about these things and saying, “Yes, I’m doing this.”
The other thing is that my account really is just centered on protecting the innocence of children. That’s the main focus. I do that by showing what these people themselves are saying they want to do, and how they want to tear apart childhood innocence. We need to do something about it. I know that a lot of legislators have used LibsofTikTok’s content in order to bring up legislation to protect children. I’m really grateful for that.
Mr. Jekielek:
Yes, I heard that it played some role in forming the Parental Rights in Education bill in Florida, for example. I don’t know if you’ve heard that as well?
Ms. Raichik:
Yes.
Mr. Jekielek:
Did people contact you about that specifically?
Ms. Raichik:
I heard from people on DeSantis’ team that the videos inspired the creation of and helped to pass the bill. They thought of the bill, they wanted to do it, and they had to garner support for it in the Florida House. How can you get support for it if you don’t have the proof and the evidence that it’s actually a problem? I’ve been told that they were able to use some of the content from LibsofTikTok to help get support for the bill.
Mr. Jekielek:
Going back to the doxing, I’m just remembering you said that Governor DeSantis also offered you a place to live. Is this right?
Ms. Raichik:
It was the day I was doxed, and someone from DeSantis’ team called me and said, “The governor wanted me to give you a message that you’re welcome to come stay in the governor’s mansion if you need a place to stay, if you need to hide.” I was obviously really touched. He obviously has a full plate. He’s very busy. He’s the governor of one of the largest states. And he took time out of his day to make sure that I had a safe place to go.
Mr. Jekielek:
Why do you think he did that?
Ms. Raichik:
I actually had the opportunity to meet him a few times in person, and I was kind of like the underdog, and he was looking out for the underdog, which I think is a really good quality. I was working alone. Now, people saw my background through the doxing story, and it was clear that I didn’t have backup. I don’t really have a lot of resources. I’m a total outsider who just decided to make a difference, to come in, and to do this work. And I think he felt like he wanted to step in and help me because of that.
Mr. Jekielek:
Did you need to hide? What happened? What was the reaction?
Ms. Raichik:
So, I did need to hide. It was confusing, because now my name is out there, so what comes next? It’s making quick decisions and trying to figure out what to do. For a couple days after, for about a week actually, I went to stay somewhere else in a secure private location, because I didn’t know what was going to happen. Were there going to be people coming and egging my home? I didn’t know, I had no idea.
I did go into hiding and thank God nothing happened. But, I had to take the precaution and I did get a spike in death threats. I did file a few police reports. I did have to