Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis skewered the right-wing social media account Libs of TikTok on Wednesday, accusing it of concocting lies to “engagement farm” and get rage “clicks.”
DeSantis was set off by a Wednesday morning post from the page’s account on X, formerly Twitter, where it wrongly stated Florida provides drivers licenses to undocumented immigrants.
The governor chimed in after a community note on X called out the page out for sharing incorrect information—an increasingly common occurrence for Libs of TikTok.
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“(Libs of TikTok) got community noted for lying about FL law, which not only prohibits illegal aliens from getting drivers licenses but also prohibits recognition of licenses issued to illegal aliens from other states,” DeSantis said. “Truth shouldn’t be a casualty of attempts to generate clicks and engagement farm.”
Libs of TikTok is run by Chaya Raichik, a former real estate agent who has become infamous for her hateful comments against LGBTQ people and her relentless mocking of those who don’t agree with her.
Her page’s post on Wednesday clipped local news segments to tell a story about three undocumented immigrants who were arrested following accusations they forced a woman into a car and sexually battered her twice on Tuesday.
Libs of TikTok declined to take the post down after DeSantis called it out. Instead, the page tried to explain how it reached the incorrect conclusion about Florida law, somehow blaming the Palm Beach County State Attorney Dave Aronberg for the gaffe.
Making the ordeal all the more baffling, the mentioning of drivers licenses appears to be irrelevant to the news story Libs of TikTok was addressing, having seemingly thrown a line about licenses in the original post’s final sentence at random.
“This normally quiet, peaceful neighborhood in Florida was shaken this week when 3 illegals from Guatemala were arrested for forcing a woman into a car and s*xually ass*ulting her,” Libs of TikTok wrote, referring to the alleged Palm Beach County assault. “Apparently FL also gives illegals drivers licenses!”
The alleged assault has garnered heavy media attention in South Florida where the local sheriff, Ric Bradshaw, pointed to the chaos at the U.S. southern border as reason behind the attack.
“Don't think for a minute that what happens at the Mexican border doesn’t affect us here,” he said Wednesday. “They shouldn’t be here.”
