When the news broke that additional facts had emerged about a trans teenager who died in Oklahoma after a group altercation in a school bathroom, the wildfire nature of the reports in the media was instant. As I first read a report, in my mind I was thinking, “We need to get more information,” but even before that conjured sentence could reach a conclusion the activist commentary was on the fly in the press.
As the telling in the media went, Nex Benedict died from a hate crime. The site formerly known as Vice News said Benedict was jumped in the bathroom. Teen Vogue reported Benedict “was beaten by three girl classmates in the bathroom of Owasso High School on Feb. 7. On Feb. 8, Nex…was declared dead at the hospital.” Many outlets reported that Benedict was rendered unconscious and/or blacked out from injuries. Then the charge-based punditry became turbo-charged.
Anti-trans legislation was said to be behind the attack. Independent journalist Judd Legum was particularly incensed over this episode, as he delivered a lengthy thread of outrage and innuendo and outright accusatory cant. NBC News saw the need to frame this death against the state's "anti-LGBTQ bills." Unsurprisingly, the Washington Post’s fact-averse harridan Taylor Lorenz went on a crusade to blame Chaya Raichik, the operator of Libs Of TikTok for instigating this attack.
The furor in the press was tangible, but it was also entirely baseless. These were supposed journalists who showed they were incapable of waiting for all of the facts to emerge, and while seeking out blame where there was none to be found they positioned themselves into a corner that exposed their activist desires.
The first disqualifier to emerge was a report of text messages from Nex detailing some of the events. Then the preliminary ME report came out that shed light on the currently-known details behind Benedict’s death. There also was the statement made by the school about the events from that day. Then came the release of the body-cam footage from police as they interviewed Nex and the family in the hospital to get details of the confrontation.
As a result of all of these disclosures, here are the facts that are now known, most of which contradict the prior hysterical coverage.
Every one of the extended narratives of this story is up for debate. Some journalists and activists responding to the news have lashed out at anyone who misgendered Nex or “dead-named” the student by using their given name of Dangney. However, in the police footage from the hospital, the mother and the officer are both heard referring to “her” and “she” repeatedly, with no comment or complaint. Also, the mother refers to her child by the given name of Dangney.
Legum, for his part, displayed a dose of desperation as the disqualifying details emerged. Here he debates the merits of the official report, calling into question its accuracy and implying there is an ulterior agenda from the authorities. (Keep in mind that in Legum's bio, he announces that he writes a newsletter "dedicated to accountability in journalism.")
What has become exposed in all of this is that there appears to be a rooting interest for this to be a case of a violent beating that was a hate crime leading to a death. Note the lack of relief that serious hatred was not at play here. There is also a lack of professional approach to this story by neglecting to wait for official details concerning what is a very serious event. Many in the press behaved like actress Annie Potts when she played the receptionist in “Ghostbusters” as their first call came in and she slammed the red alarm button, shouting “We Got One!!”
There is also the clear desire seen from many to politicize the death of a student, with the almost hopeful message this would build up to a significant amount of social outrage and activity. Bear in mind, many of these voices are the same ones who bemoan that there is so much divisiveness in the nation – as they whip out their pom-poms the very moment a divisive storyline could be breaking out.