Possibly the most well-known people against LGBTQ+ rights in the far right seem to be having a feud on social media.
The governor of Florida and a former Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis has accused influential figure Chaya Raichik of spreading falsehoods for attention. Despite her constant posting of harmful misinformation about LGBTQ+ people on social media through her influential Libs of TikTok accounts, DeSantis, whose anti-LGBTQ+ agenda in Florida has influenced Republican lawmakers in other states, seems to be okay with that.
DeSantis didn't like Raichik's incorrect claim that Florida “gives illegals drivers [sic] licenses.”
Recently, Raichik shared a local TV news story about a Florida woman who was reportedly sexually assaulted by three undocumented immigrants. According to the clip, one of the men accused of the crime had been cited in January for driving without a license, but Florida prosecutors agreed to drop the charges if the man showed proof of obtaining a driver’s license.
“Apparently FL also gives illegals drivers [sic] licenses!” Raichik wrote in the Libs of TikTok X post. “Biden’s open borders allows v*olent criminals to terrorize Americans.”
DeSantis responded via his own X account, noting that the social media platform had fact-checked Raichik’s post, adding a community note clarifying that the state does not in fact issue licenses to undocumented immigrants and does not even recognize driver’s licenses from states that do.
“Truth shouldn’t be a casualty of attempts to generate clicks and engagement farm,” DeSantis wrote.
Before DeSantis responded, Raichik clarified in two subsequent posts that Florida does not “allow illegals to get a drivers [sic] license.”
However, Raichik’s false statement had already made its mark, much like her misinformation about the LGBTQ+ community routinely does. DeSantis press secretary Jeremy Redfern posted a thread featuring screenshots of the comments and replies directed at the governor.
“This is the problem with posting things on the internet: people take you at your word, regardless of truth,” Redfern wrote — seemingly without irony, considering the false anti-LGBTQ+ narratives to which the DeSantis administration has contributed.
“This is something our comms team will be dealing with in perpetuity,” he added in another post. “It’s another false narrative that will never go away. All for clicks.”
In a follow-up post, Raichik tried to portray her misinformation as “a sarcastic comment.”
“The last thing I ever thought I’d be doing on a Wednesday afternoon is defending myself against Ron DeSantis,” she wrote. “Now the Governor who I’ve only ever congratulated for his wins and have never attacked, is publicly attacking me calling me a liar and a grifter. Just wow.”
“For the record- I think DeSantis is a good Governor, have publicly said this, and still stand by it. This personal attack from him is disappointing,” she added, characteristically casting herself as a victim as she has often done when called out for her anti-LGBTQ+ lies.
At the same time, LGBTQ+ individuals relaxed and watched the show.
“Touching: the two most significant creators of the rainbow panic are arguing publicly,” Media Matters writer Ari Drennen said in a post on X.
