# Theo Baker

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American investigative journalist

Theo Baker Born 2004 or 2005 (age 20–21) Organization The Stanford Daily Parents Peter Baker Susan Glasser Website https://theobaker.info/

**Theo Baker** (born 2005)[1] is an American [student journalist](/source/Student_publication) at *[The Stanford Daily](/source/The_Stanford_Daily)*, the student-run, independent newspaper of [Stanford University](/source/Stanford_University). In 2023, he became the youngest recipient of the [George Polk Award](/source/George_Polk_Award) for his reporting that led to the resignation of Stanford president [Marc Tessier-Lavigne](/source/Marc_Tessier-Lavigne). Baker is the son of journalists [Peter Baker](/source/Peter_Baker_(journalist)) and [Susan Glasser](/source/Susan_Glasser).

## Early life and education

Baker is from the [Washington, D.C.](/source/Washington%2C_D.C.), area[2] and is the son of journalists [Peter Baker](/source/Peter_Baker_(journalist)) of *[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)* and [Susan Glasser](/source/Susan_Glasser) of *[The New Yorker](/source/The_New_Yorker)*.[3][4][5] His paternal great-grandparents were Greek immigrants who anglicized their surname from Bakirtzoglous.[6] He attended high school at [Phillips Academy](/source/Phillips_Academy) in [Andover, Massachusetts](/source/Andover%2C_Massachusetts).[7]

He matriculated at [Stanford University](/source/Stanford_University) in 2022, when he was 17, and joined *[The Stanford Daily](/source/The_Stanford_Daily)*. He expects to graduate in June 2026 with a degree in history.[5]

## Reporting

See also: [Marc Tessier-Lavigne § Stanford University and research controversy](/source/Marc_Tessier-Lavigne#Stanford_University_and_research_controversy)

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][2][8] Baker learned about the accusations through the scientific review website [PubPeer](/source/PubPeer) and brought them to scientific integrity expert [Elisabeth Bik](/source/Elisabeth_Bik).[2] A lawyer representing Tessier-Lavigne sent letters to Baker, describing his reporting as "replete with falsehoods."[9]

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.[10] 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](/source/Non-disclosure_agreement).[2] Tessier-Lavigne announced his resignation as Stanford's president on July 19, 2023, with multiple major news outlets, including *[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)* and *[The Washington Post](/source/The_Washington_Post)*, saying it was a direct result of the *Stanford Daily* stories.[10][11]

In late March 2024, an article by Baker titled "The War at Stanford" was published in *[The Atlantic](/source/The_Atlantic)*.[12][5] The article discussed the response of Stanford University to the [2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel](/source/2023_Hamas-led_attack_on_Israel), arguing that the attack was not adequately condemned. Similarly, Baker asserted that pro-Palestine students' rhetoric led to [antisemitism](/source/Antisemitism) and created a culture of fear for Jews on campus.[12] The article also mentioned an instance where a Stanford student allegedly advocated for violence against [President Biden](/source/Joe_Biden).[13] The student's naming was denounced by some, such as journalist [Glenn Greenwald](/source/Glenn_Greenwald), as a form of [doxxing](/source/Doxxing).[14] The article was criticized by others on the basis of its portrayal of student protestors, alleging a biased narrative ignoring [islamophobia](/source/Islamophobia) and the [plight of Palestinians](/source/Palestinian_genocide_accusation).[15] [Jonathan Chait](/source/Jonathan_Chait) later published a piece in [*New York Magazine*](/source/New_York_(magazine)) responding to this criticism, suggesting [progressive](/source/Progressivism_in_the_United_States) attacks were motivated by viewpoints outside the mainstream and that critics were espousing "[illiberal left-wing thought](/source/Illiberal_democracy)".[16]

Baker took two terms off in his junior year to write a book about Stanford titled *How to Rule the World*, to be published by [Penguin Press](/source/Penguin_Press) in 2026.[5]

### Awards

In February 2023, *The Stanford Daily* received one of the 2022 [George Polk Awards](/source/George_Polk_Awards) for its reporting on Tessier-Lavigne, the first time an independent, student-run newspaper has won the award.[17][18] The Polk Awards gave Baker a "Special Award", making him the youngest ever Polk awardee.[3][18] He has also received a [James Madison Freedom of Information Award](/source/James_Madison_Freedom_of_Information_Award) from the [Northern California](/source/Northern_California) Chapter of the [Society of Professional Journalists](/source/Society_of_Professional_Journalists).[1]

## Personal life

Baker has said that he was raised as a [secular Jew](/source/Jewish_secularism) and discovered when he was a teenager that dozens of relatives had died in [the Holocaust](/source/The_Holocaust).[5]

He is often portrayed as a "[nepo baby](/source/Nepo_baby)", benefitting from the status of his parents in the journalistic world.[1] He rejected the criticisms, saying while he was fortunate to have good role models, he strived to keep his parents' influence "entirely separate" from his reporting.[19] He told *[Teen Vogue](/source/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."[20]

## References

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-SFChronicleMeet_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-SFChronicleMeet_1-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-SFChronicleMeet_1-2) Tucker, Jill (July 19, 2023). ["Meet the Stanford student whose reporting led to resignation of president Marc Tessier-Lavigne"](https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/stanford-president-resigns-student-journalist-18208940.php). *San Francisco Chronicle*. Retrieved July 21, 2023.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:0_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:0_2-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-:0_2-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-:0_2-3) Purtill, Corinne (July 21, 2023). ["Q&A: How this Stanford freshman brought down the president of the university"](https://www.latimes.com/science/story/2023-07-21/how-stanford-freshman-brought-down-university-president). *[Los Angeles Times](/source/Los_Angeles_Times)*. Retrieved July 25, 2023.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-NYTimesPolk2023_3-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-NYTimesPolk2023_3-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-NYTimesPolk2023_3-2) Robertson, Katie (February 20, 2023). ["New York Times Wins 3 Polk Awards"](https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/20/business/media/polk-awards-2022.html). *[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)*. Retrieved July 21, 2023.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-SFStudent2023_4-0)** Asimov, Nanette (February 17, 2023). ["Student paper: Scientists say study by Stanford president contained false data"](https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/student-paper-scientists-accuse-stanford-17791017.php). *San Francisco Chronicle*. Retrieved February 21, 2023.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-book_5-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-book_5-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-book_5-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-book_5-3) [***e***](#cite_ref-book_5-4) Asimov, Nanette (December 12, 2025). ["He toppled Stanford's president as a freshman. Now he's written a tell-all about the university"](https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/toppled-stanford-president-written-book-21237660.php). *San Francisco Chronicle*. Retrieved December 13, 2025.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** ["Eleftherios Baker Obituary"](https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/washingtonpost/name/eleftherios-baker-obituary?id=51595336). *The Washington Post*. 2023 – via Legacy.com.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** Bonos, Lisa (July 30, 2023). ["Meet the student who helped boot the president of Stanford"](https://www.washingtonpost.com/media/2023/07/28/theo-baker-stanford-president-tessier-lavigne/). *Washington Post*. Retrieved March 27, 2024.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** Allen, Barbara (December 11, 2022). ["The Stanford University president is under investigation, and student journalists are a large part of the reason why"](https://www.poynter.org/educators-students/2022/the-stanford-university-president-is-under-investigation-and-student-journalists-are-a-large-part-of-the-reason-why/). *Poynter*. Retrieved July 25, 2023.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** Luna, Itzel (July 28, 2023). ["The Resignation of Stanford's President Shows the Importance of Student Journalism"](https://www.thenation.com/?post_type=article&p=453382). *The Nation*. [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [0027-8378](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0027-8378). Retrieved August 1, 2023.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:1_10-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:1_10-1) Saul, Stephanie (July 19, 2023). ["Stanford President Will Resign After Report Found Flaws in His Research"](https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/19/us/stanford-president-resigns-tessier-lavigne.html). *The New York Times*. [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [0362-4331](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0362-4331). Retrieved July 25, 2023.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** Svrluga, Susan; Stripling, Jack (July 19, 2023). ["Stanford president will resign after questions about research"](https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2023/07/19/stanford-university-marc-tessier-lavigne-research-controversy/). *Washington Post*. [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [0190-8286](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0190-8286). Retrieved July 25, 2023.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Atlantic2024_12-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Atlantic2024_12-1) Baker, Theo (March 26, 2024). ["The War at Stanford"](https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2024/03/stanford-israel-gaza-hamas/677864/). *[The Atlantic](/source/The_Atlantic)*.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-13)** Clark, Jeffrey (March 26, 2024). ["Stanford student called for Biden's assassination for advancing 'genocide' of Palestinians, classmate claims"](https://www.foxnews.com/media/stanford-student-called-bidens-assassination-advancing-genocide-palestinians-classmate-claims). *Fox News*.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-14)** Greenwald, Glenn. ["The Atlantic Doxes Pro-Palestine Students w/ Nepo Baby, Theo Baker"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bAroc2ZzEAc). *YouTube*.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-15)** Lennard, Natasha. ["Pro-Israel Advocates Are Weaponizing 'Safety' on College Campuses"](https://theintercept.com/2024/03/28/safety-college-columbia-stanford-antisemitism-israel-palestine/). *The Intercept*.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-16)** Chait, Jonathan (March 28, 2024). ["Does the Left Think Young Left-Wing Protesters Matter or Not?"](https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/stanford-theo-baker-palestinian-protester-anti-semitism-israel-biden-campus.html). *Intelligencer*.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-17)** Jones, Tom (July 20, 2023). ["A Stanford student paper's excellent work leads to a major resignation"](https://www.poynter.org/commentary/2023/stanford-daily-student-newspaper-president-marc-tessier-lavigne/). *Poynter*. Retrieved July 25, 2023.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:2_18-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:2_18-1) Sze, Kristen (July 20, 2023). ["Stanford freshman's determined reporting leads to investigation, president's resignation"](https://abc7news.com/stanford-theo-baker-university-president-resigns-marc-tessier-lavigne-daily/13523844/). *ABC7 San Francisco*. Retrieved July 25, 2023.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-19)** Hall, Ellie (March 9, 2023). ["This 18-Year-Old College Journalist Could Bring Down Stanford University's President"](https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/ellievhall/theo-baker-stanford-marc-tessier-lavigne-investigation). *BuzzFeed News*. Retrieved July 28, 2023.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-20)** Retta, Mary (July 21, 2023). ["This Stanford Freshman's Reporting Brought Down the School President"](https://www.teenvogue.com/story/theo-baker-stanford-president-resigns-marc-tessier-lavigne). *[Teen Vogue](/source/Teen_Vogue)*. Retrieved July 28, 2023.

Authority control databases: National United States

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Theo Baker](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theo_Baker) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theo_Baker?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.