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Theo Baker (born 2004 or 2005) is an American investigative journalist for The Stanford Daily, the student newspaper of Stanford University.[1] In 2023, he became the youngest recipient of the George Polk Award for his reporting that led to the resignation of Stanford president Marc Tessier-Lavigne.[1][2]
Theo Baker | |
|---|---|
| Born | 2004 or 2005 (age 19–20) |
| Organization | The Stanford Daily |
| Parents | |
As a freshman reporter at The Stanford Daily, Baker began publishing stories in November 2022 about accusations that Stanford president Marc Tessier-Lavigne had altered images used in research papers, leading to a formal investigation from the university.[3][4] Baker learned about the accusations through the scientific review website PubPeer and brought them to scientific integrity expert Elisabeth Bik.[3] A lawyer representing Tessier-Lavigne sent letters to Baker, describing his reporting as "replete with falsehoods".[5]
In July 2023, the final university report found that Tessier-Lavigne's research "fell below customary standards of scientific rigor and process" but did not constitute fraud.[6] Baker subsequently published another story that the investigating panel did not grant some witnesses anonymity, so they were unable to testify because of active non-disclosure agreements.[3] Tessier-Lavigne announced his resignation as Stanford's president on July 19, 2023, with multiple major news outlets, including The New York Times and The Washington Post, characterizing it as a direct result of The Stanford Daily stories.[6][7]
In late March 2024, an article by Baker, titled 'The War at Stanford,' was published in The Atlantic.[8] The article discussed the response of Stanford University to the October 7 Attack, arguing that the attack was not adequately condemned. Similarly, Baker asserted that pro-Palestine students' rhetoric led to antisemitism and created a culture of fear for Jews on campus.[8] The article also mentioned an instance where a Stanford student allegedly advocated for violence against President Biden,[9] an action some, like journalist Glenn Greenwald, denounced as a form of doxxing.[10] The article was criticized by others on the basis of its portrayal of student protestors, alleging a biased narrative ignoring islamophobia and the plight of Palestinians.[11] Jonathan Chait later published a piece in New York Magazine responding to this criticism, suggesting progressive attacks were motivated by viewpoint outside the mainstream and that critics were espousing "illiberal left-wing thought."[12]
Awards
In February 2023, The Stanford Daily received one of the 2022 George Polk Awards for its reporting on Tessier-Lavigne, the first time an independent, student-run newspaper has won the award.[13][14] The Polk Awards gave Baker a "Special Award", making him the youngest ever Polk awardee.[1][14] He has also received a James Madison Freedom of Information Award from the Northern California Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists.[2]
Baker is from the Washington, D.C., area[3] and is the son of journalists Peter Baker and Susan Glasser.[15] He is a graduate of Phillips Academy Andover.[16]
Baker is often portrayed as a "nepo baby", benefitting from the status of his parents in the journalistic world.[17] He denounced the criticisms, saying while he was fortunate to have good role models, he strived to keep his parents' influence "entirely separate" from his reporting.[18] Baker told Teen Vogue that he had previously said he would never become a journalist but changed his mind to "feel connected to [his] late grandfather, who passed just two weeks before [he] started at Stanford, and who would always sit down and talk about his time doing student journalism."[19]
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