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Who is Lauren Wolfe? NYT denies firing reporter for Joe Biden tweet, Internet calls move 'absurd and wrong'

The day before Inauguration Day, Wolfe tweeted out a photo of now-President Joe Biden's airplane landing at Joint Base Andrews outside of Washington, DC, writing 'I have chills'

The New York Times has come under fire for allegedly firing journalist Lauren Wolfe over a tweet anticipating Joe Biden's arrival at Washington DC on Inauguration Day. While the publication has denied that Wolfe's firing was because of the tweet, the Internet is rising to defend the journalist.

The day before Inauguration Day, Wolfe tweeted out a photo of now-President Joe Biden's airplane landing at Joint Base Andrews outside of Washington, DC. “I have chills,” she wrote. The tweet has since been deleted.

The issue went viral after Wolfe's friend, Josh Shahryar, tweeted about Wolfe's firing, writing, "This is the most important thing I've ever written. My friend and family Lauren @Wolfe321 was just fired by the @NYTimes after the NYT was pressured by fascists, Trumpkins, and hypocrites on the right for tweeting she had 'chills' after witnessing Biden's landing on the 20th."

Sharyar went on to defend Wolfe, writing, "Why did Lauren send that tweet? WHY DIDN'T EVERYONE??? We had a peaceful transfer of power after a coup attempt by the president of the United States that resulted in 6 people dying, the capitol being overrun, and our democracy under direct threat for months!"

Shahryar also tweeted, calling out the New York Post for its article on Wolfe, writing, "But it wasn't just the faceless, nameless Russian bots and fascists who went after Lauren. They physically stalked Lauren. They took pictures of her with her doggo Moose. They published those pictures on the @NYPost. THEY. WENT. AFTER. HER."

Shahryar continued, "That's my friend Lauren. On the side of the street. Huddled with her doggo. Her lip is red because she had just been to the hospital to get stitches after an accident. They followed her with cameras. They cornered her and took pictures of her. For expressing relief."

Who is Lauren Wolfe?

Lauren Wolfe is an award-winning journalist and photographer who has written for many publications such as The Atlantic and The Guadian. She is the director and creator of the Women in Media Center's WomenUnderSiege.org, a reporting initiative on sexualized violence in conflict, which originated from feminist icon Gloria Steinem.

In 2015, she testified before the House of Lords in the United Kingdom, and in 2012, she testified at the United Nations about her team's findings on rape in Syria. She has reported from conflict zones in the Middle East, Central Africa, and Central America, interviewing men and women who have suffered from the fallout of war. She has also served on the advisory committee of the Nobel Women's Initiative International Campaign to Stop Rape and Gender Violence in Conflict.

She was a finalist for the Anthony Shadid Award for Journalism Ethics, the Kurt Schork Memorial Award and the One World Media Awards in 2017 for her series of articles and photos that led to the arrest and conviction of a politician and members of his militia for raping toddlers in Eastern Congo for three years.

Over her many years as a reporter, Wolfe has accumulated many accolades for her contribution as a journalist. In 2013, Foreign Policy magazine named Wolfe one of its “FP Twitterati 100”, calling her an “authority on gender and conflict”. Action on Armed Violence included her in their list “Top 100: The Most Influential Journalists Covering Armed Violence” and the UK’s Daily Telegraph named her “an awesome woman you need in your life on Twitter”.

Why did The New York Times fire Lauren Wolfe?

Following Wolfe's friend, Shahryar's tweets, many retweeted the thread in support of Wolfe, including CNN's Jake Tapper and independent journalist Jeremy Scahill, who wrote, "I think it’s absurd and wrong that the NYT fired Lauren Wolfe. Also, does anyone remember how MSNBC’s Chris Matthews literally cried over an Obama speech, compared him to Jesus and said he 'felt this thrill going up my leg' when Obama spoke?"

One user tweeted, "According to tweets from many credible journalists, (including a thread by @JShahryar) Lauren Wolfe was fired from the @nytimes for posting the tweet below. If this was the extent of the infraction, firing her is unacceptable especially when NYT supports Stephenson and Haberman."

Writer David Klion tweeted, "Is anyone at NYT going to publicly defend this firing? In addition to unjustly terminating Wolfe in the middle of a pandemic, they've put their entire staff at risk of similar bad faith campaigns by rewarding this one."

One user shared, "This is disgraceful @nytimes. Would Lauren @Wolfe321 still have her job if she instead tweeted she had chills after witnessing the @ROLEX watch on Biden’s wrist as he took the oath on the 20th? Rehire Lauren Wolfe, with a raise for all the unnecessary grief you caused her."

However, the exact reason for Wolfe's firing is not known, and a spokesperson for The New York Times told The Wrap on the issue, "For privacy reasons we don’t get into the details of personnel matters but we can say that we didn’t end someone’s employment over a single tweet,” declining to comment further.