Published 14:58 IST, July 2nd 2020
Fiona Moriarty-McLaughlin responds to fake activism claims that angered LeBron James
Fiona Moriarty-McLaughlin responded to fake activism claims after a video of her helping communities in Santa Monica caught the eye of LeBron James.
Fiona Moriarty-McLaughlin faced the rage of social media last month after a video of her allegedly pretending to be an activist went viral online. The former intern at the Washington Examiner was called out for reportedly executing a photo-op feigning to help the looted community in Santa Monica amidst the Black Lives Matter protests. The video caught the attention of NBA icon LeBron James and pop star Pink, who called out Fiona Moriarty-McLaughlin for her 'fake activism' and alleged attempt to gain popularity on social media.
Fiona Moriarty-McLaughlin responds to fake activism claims
In her opinion column in USA Today, Fiona Moriarty-McLaughlin said that her social media accounts were flooded with hate and death threats and she lost her internship with the Washington Examiner. She explained the context of the video, and what she was doing in Santa Monica, along with the entire drill incident. McLaughlin wrote that she wanted to do something, having witnessed destruction amidst the Black Lives Matter protests and as a journalism student her first reaction was to document the places of devastation, while she also wanted to capture the efforts of the cleanup crews and construction workers who were starting to rebuild. Fiona Moriarty-McLaughlin claims that the cleanup crews and construction workers are the ‘unsung heroes’ and she chronicled videos of the desolation as well as personnel fixing storefronts.
Fiona Moriarty-McLaughlin responds to video that caught LeBron James' eye
Speaking about the video, Fiona said that she asked her father to pull over after seeing a number of businesses being shut down. She spoke to a construction worker who was putting up plywood and thanked him for his effort. As they spoke about the cleanup, the worker handed her the drill in a friendly manner and in the spur of the moment a photograph was taken.
She added that there was no photo-op, fake activism or malicious attempt behind her interaction and all reports made were completely false. Fiona added that she noticed two activists were filming her and heckled her by calling out “Black Lives Matter” and “boyfriends of Instagram.” Fearing them, she quickly returned to her car after thanking the carpenter and stated that the idea of posting the photo never crossed her mind.
Fiona Moriarty-McLaughlin reveals she got death threats after LeBron James' criticism
However, things went from bad to worse for Fiona Moriarty-McLaughlin as the video went viral on social media. She claims that the hecklers couldn’t recognise her or her father due to them wearing masks amidst the coronavirus pandemic, but dug out information using her car’s number plate. Soon, her name, address, phone number, and other details were out there on social media and her accounts were bombarded with malicious threats by harassers.
Fiona also called out the journalism surrounding the entire incident and claimed that news was riddled with errors. She claimed that in some reports her father was described as her boyfriend, while a report said that she said “Good job guys, BLM” in the video. However, Fiona refutes those reports suggesting that it was one of the hecklers who said that and not her.
Fiona Moriarty-McLaughlin added that she did not delete her social media accounts, but attempts to report and hack her piled up. McLaughlin claimed that a number of fake accounts spewing hate speech were created and they are yet to be taken down despite her countless reports against them. She said that all she wanted to do was to record and distinguish the work and back-breaking labour of people many take for granted who helped reinstate Los Angeles. However, she fell into "the trap of online cesspit of sanctimony, false narratives, and clickbait". She became the victim of the social media mob’s cancel culture and wrote, "They won’t destroy me. I won’t let them."
(Image Credit: Ava DuVernay Twitter, LeBron James Instagram)
Updated 15:39 IST, July 4th 2020