>> Daily Beast Removes Article on Gay Olympians in Rio
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Ce vendredi, le site américain The Daily Beast a présenté ses excuses, après avoir retiré un article publié la veille qui révélait l’homosexualité de plusieurs athlètes présents à Rio.
Sans indiquer qu’il « racolait » en tant que journaliste, si ce n’est se définir comme hétérosexuel, marié et papa, de quoi suggérer la plus haute discrétion, l’auteur du texte Nico Hines a quêté sur diverses applications de rencontres avant de se fixer sur Grindr, la plus réactive dans le village olympique.
Il ne cite pas de noms, mais délivre avec les détails de son parcours, tous les profils de ses conquêtes, âge et caractéristiques physiques, jusqu’à leur discipline, nationalité ou photos pour certains, originaires néanmoins de pays où l’homosexualité est interdite, voire passible de la peine de mort : « c’est une condamnation ! »
Sous le feu des critiques, le Daily Beast a d’abord modifié l’article « irréfléchi », avant de le remplacer finalement par une « note d’excuse » du rédacteur en chef John Avlon : « Un pas sans précédent mais nécessaire ».
« Nous n’avons pas été à la hauteur des valeurs fondamentales du Daily Beast ni de nos engagements en tant que journalistes contre les brimades, bigots et le sectarisme, mais réaffirmons notre soutien indéfectible aux membres de la communauté LGBT. C’est une erreur collective. Nous n’avions pas d’intention de nuire même si le mal est déjà fait. Nous avons eu tort et présentons nos excuses aux lecteurs et aux athlètes dont nous aurons menacé la sécurité de quelque manière que ce soit. »
It is still illegal to be gay in Tonga, and while I’m strong enough to be me in front of the world, not everybody else is. Respect that.
— Amini Fonua (@AminiFonua) 11 août 2016
Le nageur tongien Amini Fonua l’a d’ailleurs rappelé avec colère : « il est illégal d’être homosexuel aux îles Tonga », comme dans plus de 70 autres pays d’ailleurs dans le monde. Mais « si je suis suffisamment solide pour m’affirmer (en tant que personne LGBT), ça ne l’est pas pour tous et nous devons le respecter ! »
Terrence Katchadourian
stophomophobie.org
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>> The premise of The Daily Beast article was simple: The Olympics are a « hotbed of partying athletes, hookups, and sex, sex, sex. »
So the reporter Nico Hines — a straight man who is married and has one child — headed to the Olympic Village in Rio de Janeiro seeking dates using various apps.
He gained three in a single hour, and in an article published on Thursday went on to describe in detail the responses he received on Grindr, the gay dating app. No names were mentioned, but the article was so detailed, it was not hard to guess the identities of the men he had contacted, and not all of them were from gay-friendly countries.
The story was quickly condemned on social media. After trying to smooth things over with a revised story and an editor’s note, The Daily Beast changed course on Thursday night and took the unusual step of pulling the story entirely.
« Our hope is that removing an article that is in conflict with both our values and what we aspire to as journalists will demonstrate how seriously we take our error, » according to an editors’ note that went up in place of the story. « We were wrong. We will do better. »
In an earlier note, after the story was revised in response to the barrage of criticism, The Daily Beast’s editor in chief, John Avlon, said editors had removed details that might identify the athletes. He also responded to complaints that Mr. Hines’s original article mocked or shamed the athletes who responded to Mr. Hines’s overtures on Grindr.
« We do not feel he did this in any way, » he said.
Mr. Avlon said that Mr. Hines received more invitations on Grindr than on straight dating apps and that « he never claimed to be anyone he was not, did not offer anything to anyone, and immediately admitted that he was a journalist whenever he was asked who he was. »
But at 9 p.m., the article and the original editor’s note were gone, and replaced with a note describing how the organization took the « unprecedented but necessary step » of removing the entire article.
« The Daily Beast does not do this lightly, » the note said. « Our initial reaction was that the entire removal of the piece was not necessary. We were wrong. »
The note said the article was not intended “to do harm or degrade members of the LGBT community, but intent doesn’t matter, impact does. »
Mr. Avlon and The Daily Beast’s executive editor, Noah Shachtman, both shared the new editors’ note on Twitter, expressing regret.
Mr. Hines, reached by email before the article was removed, declined to comment on Thursday night.
In the article, he described what he encountered: profiles of athletes competing in various events, including an individual « from a notoriously homophobic country »; photos of Olympic bedspreads; and a frank exchange with one user.
The article drew significant backlash from gay leaders and athletes.
Sarah Kate Ellis, the president and chief executive of Glaad, a group that advocates for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender rights, said on Twitter: « Thoughtless @thedailybeast piece puts LGBT athletes in danger. It should be removed & replaced w a real story about violence LGBT ppl face. »
Amini Fonua, a swimmer from Tonga who is competing in Rio and who is openly gay, said the article was « deplorable. »
He wrote on Twitter: « It is still illegal to be gay in Tonga, and while I’m strong enough to be me in front of the world, not everybody else is. Respect that. »
