Gawker faces backlash for ‘disgraceful’ outing article
By Kevin Long
Media news and gossip site Gawker has come under fire from Twitter users after publishing a story that outed a rival media organisation’s CFO, who allegedly attempted to solicit a gay porn star for ‘2-3 hours’ in a hotel room in Chicago.
The business leader – who is married and has three children – was allegedly put under pressure by the escort, who wanted him to use his influence to help with a housing dispute. The CFO had extended connections to Barack Obama, which the escort – given the pseudonym Ryan in the article, as Gawker chose to protect his identity – found out after uncovering his identity online.
The story broke late last night and has since sparked a huge backlash from readers and media commentators, who have accused Gawker of engaging in ‘reprehensible’ and ‘disgraceful’ journalism. Others have slammed the site for ruining the CFO’s life for ‘no good reason’:
https://twitter.com/ggreenwald/status/621873669472710656
What Gawker did last night was morally repugnant. Feel sorry for some of the good people working at Kotaku that are now associated with it.
— TotalBiscuit (@Totalbiscuit) July 17, 2015
https://twitter.com/kevinroose/status/621846667810115584
There's no excuse for the Gawker piece, which I won't link to. It's disgraceful, and it shouldn't be referred to as journalism.
— Sabrina Siddiqui (@SabrinaSiddiqui) July 17, 2015
That piece is just sick, mean and creepy. I just don't understand why'd they publish.
— Gabriel Sherman (@gabrielsherman) July 17, 2015
To be clear: Geithner not a public figure. Closeted gay. Didn't have affair – backed out. So blackmailer goes to Gawker. Gawker cooperates.
— Jeff B. is *BOX OFFICE POISON* (@EsotericCD) July 17, 2015
Even some of Gawker’s staff are distancing themselves from the story.
https://twitter.com/AdamWeinstein/status/621851862141128704
Not everyone finds issue with the article. A senior writer for popular feminist blog Jezebel – itself owned by Gawker Media – tweeted support for the piece, citing the ‘truth’ as a defence for publishing it.
https://twitter.com/stillgray/status/621912490696282112
Gawker has often walked a fine line when it comes to gossip content, and was previously criticised for outing Anderson Cooper in 2009. Responding to the online backlash, Gawker’s Editor-in-Chief had this to say:
https://twitter.com/max_read/status/621855300509925376