The claim: A Washington Post story labeled a dog 'the new face of online homophobia’

Taylor Lorenz, a technology and online culture reporter at The Washington Post, is one of the most recognizable reporters on social media.

One online trend connected to her isn't one she has reported on, however.

A May 16 Facebook post, which accumulated more than 700 interactions in a week, featured a screenshot of a purported Washington Post story written by Lorenz titled, "This dog is the new face of online homophobia."

While Lorenz has reported on meme culture in the past, she did not write the claimed story in the screenshot. The image was fabricated – as nearly all social media users seemed to notice judging by the comments and laughing emojis.

The screenshot was posted by another Facebook user on May 16 and shared widely before the caption of the post was updated to note, "This is a parody meme. Taylor Lorenz did not write this article." The user who posted the other iteration also responded to a USA TODAY message to say the post is "just a silly meme."

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Our rating: Satire

Based on our research, we rate SATIRE the claim that The Washington Post published a story titled "This dog is the new face of online homophobia." The Post did not publish any such story, and this supposed screenshot is a digital creation.