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‘Tunnel Girl’ Update: Why KiwiFarms Is Better Than Mainstream Journalism

Posted on | January 4, 2024 | Comments Off on ‘Tunnel Girl’ Update: Why KiwiFarms Is Better Than Mainstream Journalism

Jacob Lorei (left) a/k/a “Kala”

In my previous post, I expressed dismay that KiwiFarms didn’t have a “lolcow” thread about “Kala,” the TikTok personality who is digging an (apparently illegal) tunnel under “her” Northern Virginia home. Now I must apologize to the KF crew, after a commenter pointed out that there was such a thread, which I hadn’t found because it was in a development section of the Farms only available to registered users.

Oh, boy, what a total dox — complete with a college yearbook photo circa 2006 (above left) when Jacob Thomas Lorei was attending Gannon University in Erie, Pennsylvania, and not studying engineering. It appears that “Kala” has a day job doing some kind of computer software work, and has legally changed his name to Pranavi Kalavathamma Lorei, so that he is not only pretending to be a woman, but also pretending to be Indian (not the Elizabeth Warren kind). The Kiwi Farmers have the exact address where Kala is constructing the “tunnel”/creepy underground lair, as well as information about “businesses” Kala runs from this address, and some drama about the eviction of a former roommate/tenant.

Compare the excellent investigative reporting of KiwiFarms with the deliberately dumbed-down output of so-called “professional” journalists:

It’s only a few days into 2024 and we’ve already got “Northern Virginia woman builds likely illegal underground tunnel system under her home” on our bingo card.
The amateur engineer going by “Kala” on her “engineer.everything” TikTok account has become known as “TikTok tunnel girl” for her videos showcasing the construction of a series of tunnels underneath her home (she’s posted more than 200 dating back to October 2022). Many videos feature her welding, stacking cinder blocks, dumping rock, and talking through engineering challenges she’s encountered while constructing the “underground tunnel system” 22 feet below the Northern Virginia surface.
Kala, who has asked news outlets not to share her legal name, admits in her TikToks that she’s not a professionally trained structural engineer (though she is a software engineer). She’s made a point to note in her videos that she’s learning new hands-on skills, and she’s highlighted several setbacks and challenges to the project.

See what I mean? The reader who is curious about “Kala” — wondering what kind of crazy person would do such a thing — gets no clue from the professional journalist, who voluntarily plays along with the deception (“Kala . . . has asked news outlets not to share her legal name”) that conceals the most relevant facts about this kook who (a) bears a more than passing resemblance to infamous mass murderer Adam Lanza and (b) could be doing that “Buffalo Bill” thing from Silence of the Lambs.

It would be wrong to imply that “Kala” is a homicidal maniac who was digging this “tunnel” for criminal purposes, but on the other hand, I wouldn’t accuse you of paranoia if you expressed such suspicions.

NBC News was the first national media to cover the “TikTok tunnel girl” saga, back in November, but read that story and see if you get any hint that “Kala” is actually transgender, and in fact is a white guy pretending to be a woman of Indian ancestry. They used an image of “Kala” lifted from “her” social media, and hello, face filters? That picture is a disguise in more ways than one, and why do you think Jacob/“Kala” is so intent on concealing his/“her” true identity? Would you guess that, perhaps, Jacob/“Kala” is deriving income from his/“her” TikTok/YouTube based on the audience’s belief that “Kala” is actually a woman?

There are a lot of questions about this person that NBC News and other “professional” media outlets evidently didn’t bother to ask, and they are therefore guilty of misleading the public — undermining their own credibility, kind of like how “Kala” is undermining the foundation of his/“her” home with that tunnel. If KiwiFarms is providing more reliable journalism than NBC News, whose fault is that?



 

Category: Gays, Journalism

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