RantCrush Top 5: January 13, 2017

A case of mistaken identity led to a wave of online attacks against Washington Post’s homepage editor Doris Truong, when right-wing observers believed she snapped pictures of Rex Tillerson’s notes during his confirmation hearing for secretary of state. A picture of an Asian woman taking pictures at the hearing started circulating on Twitter, and for some reason people thought it was Truong.

The morning after the hearing, she woke up to dozens of angry Facebook messages from people she didn’t know, as well as comments on her Twitter, Instagram, and Youtube pages. “There’s a joke among Asian Americans that people think we all look the same,” she wrote in a post addressing the attacks. She described how people called her a “pathetic,” “sneaky thief,” and assumed she must be a spy for China, just because of her Asian heritage.

Who is this woman and why is she secretly snapping photos of Rex Tillerson’s notes? pic.twitter.com/u3WXM3XHCA

— America First! (@America_1st_) January 12, 2017

“Why are people so quick to look for someone to condemn?” Truong wrote, and added that even Sarah Palin tweeted about her. Truong wasn’t even at the hearing on Wednesday. But, even if she was, why would that make it okay for people to start “self-investigating” her, calling for her to be fired, and attacking her on social media?

Emma Von Zeipel

Emma Von Zeipel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. She is originally from one of the islands of Stockholm, Sweden. After working for Democratic Voice of Burma in Thailand, she ended up in New York City. She has a BA in journalism from Stockholm University and is passionate about human rights, good books, horses, and European chocolate. Contact Emma at EVonZeipel@LawStreetMedia.com.