Wow, Talia Lavin really is a piece of work. After smearing a former Marine and double-amputee by mistakenly identifying him as a neo-Nazi, she was promoted to Media Matters to focus on the far right. Now she’s a journalism instructor at New York University teaching about writing about the far right. The problem is everyone she sees is “far right.”

We wonder if she’s teaching a section on libel because she seems to be good at that, smearing Ben Shapiro in a Washington Post piece as a “far-right pundit” whose tweets about the Notre Dame fire “evoked the specter of a war between Islam and the West.”

They absolutely did not, and The Washington Examiner wrote a piece about it, saying that like many late-night comedians who go political and then retreat into, “I’m just a harmless comic” mode when challenged, Lavin had her own clown-nose on, clown-nose off routine:

Talia Lavin’s clown nose-on, clown nose-off routine is becoming tiresome. And nowhere was her hypocrisy on full display more than in her hackneyed hit-job against Ben Shapiro in the pages of the Washington Post. … So, Lavin willfully and shameless smeared Shapiro, not only branding him an Islamophobe but also strongly insinuating that he’s inciting literal terrorism. This is a pattern of behavior for her. It certainly doesn’t pass the threshold of defamation, but Lavin has no journalistic integrity. That the eighth-most-read newspaper on the internet and across the globe deemed her suitable for publication is unconscionable.

Here’s Lavin’s counter-argument:

this article is ludicrous, i've never worn a clown nose and i did not claim to be a victim in this situation. i have zero control over what my former employer chooses to tweet. https://t.co/CNVg1Pq2Ya — Talia Lavin (@chick_in_kiev) April 17, 2019

Based on your grasp of reality, I'd wager you're wearing a clown nose right now. https://t.co/afnVo7XrTt — Anthony Bialy (@AnthonyBialy) April 17, 2019

She has totally worn a clown nose. — Stephen Miller (@redsteeze) April 17, 2019

Maybe you should start wearing a clown nose … to remove all doubt — roamin_rick (@rupdyke) April 17, 2019

NYU must now be a clown college — Max Peters (@TikiMaximus) April 17, 2019

When you make your debate opponent write the sentence "I have never worn a clown nose…" — Jim Antle (@jimantle) April 17, 2019

You. Have. Won. — Matt Whitlock (@mattdizwhitlock) April 17, 2019

The only remaining question at that point is how many debate opponents can you fit inside a tiny car. — Jim Antle (@jimantle) April 17, 2019

You took a cheap shot at the guy and now you're crying because consequences. ? — Baldy Monergist (@baldy_monergist) April 17, 2019

1. Baselessly smears someone without doing a modicum of research

2. Pretends to be a victim rather than a public figure when rightly called out for her lies

3. Then doubles down in a tantrum while her allies try to grant her cover Sure sounds like you – you just did it again — Joe Mama (@IBacitizen) April 17, 2019

You still have a job? ? — Delilah Montori (@DelilahMontori) April 17, 2019

Didnt you get fired for being a trash human being? — Adrian V (@BostonAce2) April 17, 2019

Throwing your former employer under the bus eh? — Frederick Leathers (@FrederickLeath5) April 17, 2019

Wow, I just googled you. You really are a wildebeest. — Michael Gunn (@ShadowWorldKing) April 17, 2019

Your are horrible. — Tahoe (@Tahoejrd) April 17, 2019

Face it, your track record isn’t too great. Mediocre at best. Willfully smearing people? Maybe, jury is out on that. — Mike (@MikeH1230) April 17, 2019

No, she’s guilty.

Weren't you fired as a "fact checker" because you made up vicious lies about a veteran? — Fugacious (@fugaciouslaw) April 17, 2019

She's not evil, she's just dumb. — Some guy tweeted something ??‍♂️ (@jtLOL) April 17, 2019

Spot on article. — GI_ATX (@JustGreggo) April 17, 2019

She locked her account and unlocked it to reply to this. Good work lol — ART TAVANA (@arttavana) April 17, 2019

Stellar hire, NYU.

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