This morning, I used "let me google that for you" to critique a trans news outlet for a lack of due diligence.

Their response was defensive (understandable) but then got increasingly aggressive, culminating in a very angry storm of DMs and a block.

It was @WhatTheTrans.

I subtweeted this earlier but decided to be direct, because it did get increasingly angrier rather than less, and my attempts to steer them back toward addressing the harm they did went completely unheard.

They kept accusing me of "laying a trap" and "attacking."

I'm not saying I was kind. I was not. I was frustrated by someone billing themselves as a news organization and repeating (multiple times) a harmful falsehood. I was snarky at them.

It was still just a critique of a lack of due diligence.

If at any point they had apologized for their failure to google the claim and acknowledged the harm done, I would have moved on gladly, and this thread wouldn't exist.

They were far more interested in defending themselves (and attacking me).

I'm disappointed.

Anyone can have a bad day, and defensive reactions are understandable - but this really did escalate a whole lot more than was reasonable. I hope it's out of character, and if folks know and trust them, I'd be glad to hear that. I have zero skin in this game.

But based on that interaction, I cannot recommend them as a news source, and definitely would not encourage people to engage with them at all.