The reporter who outed a local man for posting racist tweets years and years ago who had used his ‘viral fame’ to raise millions for a children’s hospital has left the Des Moines Register.
We've heard from hundreds of you about our Carson King coverage. We took appropriate action because there’s nothing more important than having readers’ trust. https://t.co/hnfCsjL8gD
— Des Moines Register (@DMRegister) September 27, 2019
He ‘left’.
Reporter who outed racist tweets by viral fundraiser leaves Des Moines Register after his own offensive posts surface https://t.co/x40sBtSVdE
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) September 27, 2019
From WaPo:
When a Des Moines Register reporter on Tuesday helped expose racist tweets posted years ago by a local man who used his viral Internet fame to raise millions for a children’s hospital, it inspired a vicious backlash against “cancel culture” — and the reporter himself, who critics soon found had his own history of offensive posts.
The Register announced late Thursday that the reporter, Aaron Calvin, no longer works for the newspaper. The move comes as the Register has hired extra security under a deluge of threats from people furious about its decision to pursue the story.
Carol Hunter, the Register’s executive editor, announced Thursday that, after the backlash, the newspaper was reexamining both its procedures for reviewing employees’ social media accounts and its internal policies for how to report on the backgrounds of profile subjects.
“We’re revising our policies and practices, including those that did not uncover our own reporter’s past inappropriate social media postings,” she wrote in a column. “We took appropriate action because there is nothing more important in journalism than having readers’ trust.”
Recommended
‘Reexamining its procedures for reviewing employees’ social media.’
That’s adorable.
Cancel culture anyone?
Maybe don’t ‘out’ someone for racist tweets when you have racist tweets of your own?
So, going forward you won't be trying to dig up dirt on someone who is doing an incredibly selfless and generous good deed and using it to ruin their life? Sure you will…
— Victorena Minchew (@Merleliz) September 27, 2019
College Professors: In this you will have a master class on how not to run a business. They attempted to permanently destroy a young man for the crime of raising $$ for a children's hospital, while they had even worse skeletons in their own closets. Perhaps more to come.
— Chihoowa' oshi' (@DroppinTheMitts) September 27, 2019
So what you're doing is basic CYA, not issuing an apology to Mr. King, and hoping your readers accept your obfuscation.
The only thing you've actually achieved is a hot ratio.
— Schadenfreudelish (@aggierican) September 27, 2019
— TJWFW (@icouldbeahacker) September 27, 2019
"We've heard from hundreds of you who said maybe we shouldn't speed in a school zone. We hear you. We decided to slam on the gas and get through that school zone as fast as we can!"
— Aldous Huxley's Ghost™ (@AF632) September 27, 2019
But have you actually apologized or is it just the standard " ok you got us so we're sorry" non-apology?
— karenWV (@kelsieA67) September 27, 2019
You are a disgrace
— Preston Moritz (@ptmoritz) September 27, 2019
Not a great look.
Related:
Join the conversation as a VIP Member