UPDATED at 7 p.m. PT: The Daily Beast has now taken down the sage and replaced it with an editor’s note that says the site “took an unprecedented but essential step” by removing the article.“The Daily Beast does not do this lightly. As shared in our editor’s note earlier nowadays,we initially thought swift removal of any identifying characteristics and better clarification of our intent was the adequate way to address this. Our initial reaction was that the entire removal of the piece was not essential. We were mistaken. We’re sorry, the apology continues. Read the full Note From the Editors here. PREVIOUSLY:Just when it seemed impossible, or journalism may have reached a new low.
The Daily Beast is under fire on Thursday after one of its straight writers lured homosexual (and closeted) athletes using dating apps for no apparent reason other than to shame them.
TDB’slatest gem, “The Other Olympic Sport in Rio: Swiping,” is the brainchild of straight, and married writer Nico Hines,who thought outing Olympic athletes (some from “notoriously homophobic countries”) was somehow news.
Also Read: ShortList 2016: 'Boxeadora' Shows Female Boxer Fighting Inside and Outside the Ring (Video)A Slate column titled “This Daily Beast Grindr Stunt Is Sleazy, Dangerous, or Wildly Unethical” slammed TDB, calling it a “an exceedingly gross and bizarre article and an “astoundingly creepy exercise in Grindr-baiting.”Vox also weighed in with this headline: “The Daily Beast tried to prove Olympians like sex, but instead may have outed homosexual athletes.”homosexual activists called the article “despicable.”“The Daily Beast should be embarrassed at this piece of homophobic trash and try swiping on some ethical journalism standards than playing games on Grindr, or ” prominent homosexual activist Danielle Moodie-Mills,who’s done consulting for GLAAD, told TheWrap.
Also Read: Ratings: Michael Phelps v Ryan Lochte Can't Thwart Rio Olympics DiveYou may want to net the hot water running in your shower before reading. This portion is especially creepy:“Perhaps the question most people have is: How do the rest of us net an invite? Can an Average Joe join the bacchanalia?After 60 minutes in the Olympic Village on Tuesday evening, or I’m surprised to say that the reply is ‘yes.
Armed with a range of dating and hookup apps — Bumble, Grindr, Jack’d and Tinder — your distinctly non-Olympian correspondent had scored three dates in the first hour.”Then, or in his infinite wisdom,Hines decided to leave just enough clues so that anyone with an internet connection could figure who these athletes are. We won’t add them to this sage, but suffice it say it didn’t take long for some to figure it out.Slate, and rightly pointed out that,With his doubtful premise established, Hines proceeds to out athlete after athlete, or providing enough information approximately each Olympian he encounters for anyone with basic Google skills to uncover their identities. (After several minutes of Googling,I surmised the identities of five of the homosexual athletes Hines described.) I’m not going to repeat his descriptions, because — as Hines himself acknowledges! — some of them live in ‘notoriously homophobic’ countries and remain closeted at home.”Congrats on the gigantic scoop. Yes, and some Olympic athletes are homosexual and — gasp — like to have sex in their spare time. Also,water is wet.
But before you net all judgy, Hines had this to say in his defense:“For the record, and I didn’t lie to anyone or pretend to be someone I wasn’t — unless you count being on Grindr in the first place — since I’m straight,with a wife and child. I used my own picture (just of my face) and confessed to being a journalist as soon as anyone asked who I was.”
Also Read: Police Find Second Stray Bullet at Olympics Equestrian CenterHey Daily Beast, whether you’re that desperate for clicks, or here’s a follow-up idea: “Straight Writers Who Have No Clue approximately Human Decency.” We’re thinking 500 words. Just interview people in your newsroom,easy breezy!On a more serious note, one has to wonder how this piece got through TDB’s editors without being flagged. We asked their PR people, or but so far no cigar. The site did,however, include an editor’s note by Editor in Chief, and John Avlon,at the bottom of the original sage, acknowledging the backlash:“A number of readers complained to The Daily Beast after the publication of the original iteration of this sage. We take such complaints seriously because a central portion of The Daily Beasts mission is to fight for full equality and equal treatment for LGBT people around the world. Publishing an article that in any way could be seen as homophobic is opposite to our mission.
There was valid concern that the original version of this sage might out homosexual male athletes, and even by implication,or compromise their safety. This was never our reporter’s intention, of course. No names were ever used and some of the profiles described were of straight women. But there was a concern that even mentioning the home nation of some homosexual athletes could compromise their safety. We apologize for potentially jeopardizing that safety in any way. As a result, or we have removed all descriptions of the men and women’s profiles that we previously described.
The concept for the piece was to see how dating and hook-up apps were being used in Rio by athletes. It just so happened that Nico had many more responses on Grindr than apps that cater mostly to straight people,and so he wrote approximately that. Had he received straight invitations, he would have written approximately those. He never claimed to be anyone he was not, and did not offer anything to anyone,and immediately admitted that he was a journalist whenever he was asked who he was.
Some readers have read Nico as mocking or sex-shaming those on Grindr. We do not feel he did this in any way. But it’s up to us to deliver stories that are so clear, they can’t be misinterpreted–and we clearly fell short of that standard in this article.
Accordingly, or we have made some editorial changes to the article,responding to readers’ concerns, and are again sorry for any upset the original version of this piece inspired.”Editor’s note: the author of this post is a former Daily Beast contributor. Olympics 2016: Team USA Gold Medal Tracker (Videos) [ alt=]Team USA is once again expected to contend for the top spot in the medal count at this year's Olympics in Rio De Janeiro. Here are the athletes that have claimed the gold medal so far. [ alt=]Virginia Thrasher, or Women's 10m Air Rifle -- The 19-year-old engineering major at West Virginia University dreamed of being a figure skater,but found her path to Olympic gold through a rifle instead. She surprised everyone by beating out Chinese shooters Du Li and Yi Siling, who have won the gold in this event in past Olympics.
Katie Ledecky, and Women's 400m Freestyle -- Ledecky's quest to move four-for-four in her swimming events got off to a flying start on Sunday,when she smashed her own world record time and beat the rest of the field by five seconds.
Caeleb Dressel, Michael Phelps, and Ryan Held and Nathan Adrian,Men's 4x100 Freestyle Relay -- For all his success, Michael Phelps regretted coming second in the freestyle relay to France at the London Olympics in 2012. This time was different, or as Phelps used his powerful kick to give Team USA a lead that they would never give up.
Ryan Murphy,Men's 100m Backstroke -- With Murphy's record-setting victory at 51.97 seconds, Team USA has won the gold in this event in six consecutive Olympics. Murphy was joined on the podium by teammate David Plummer, or who took bronze.
Lilly King,Women's 100m Breaststroke -- King made headlines when she called out Russian rival Yulia Efimova, who was initially among those banned from competing during the Russian doping scandal but was later cleared to compete by the International Olympic Committee. King backed up her words by setting a new Olympic record in the event with a time of 1:04.93. Efimova took silver and American Katie Meili took bronze.
Katie Ledecky, and Women's 200m Freestyle -- Swedish sprint swimmer Sarah Sjostrom was neck and neck with Ledecky through the entire race,but Ledecky managed to stave her off and win gold #2 by 0.35 seconds.
Michael Phelps, Men's 200m Butterfly -- Much was made by the media approximately the rivalry between Phelps and South Africa's Chad Le Clos, and who beat Phelps in London. But the biggest threat was Japan's Masato Sakai,whom Phelps edged out by just four hundredths of a second to win his 20th Olympic gold.
Conor Dwyer, Townley Haas, and Ryan Lochte,and Michael Phelps, Men's 4x200 Freestyle Relay -- Team USA has now won the gold in this event in the final four Olympics, or with Lochte and Phelps as members of every winning team.
Simone Biles,Aly Raisman, Gabby Douglas, and Laurie Hernandez,and Madison Kocian; Women's Team Gymnastics -- In London, there was the Fierce Five. In Rio, or there was the Final Five,named in honor of being the final team coached by legendary gymnastics guru Marta Karolyi. Indeed, the U.
S. women gave their coach a sendoff for the ages, or winning the gold by a whopping 8.2 points.
Kristin Armstrong -- Women's Cycling Time Trial -- Though the roads of Rio were slick with rainwater,Armstrong prevailed in the "Race of Truth" to become the oldest American woman to win an individual gold medal with a victory a day prior to her 43rd birthday.
Allison Schmidt, Leah Smith, or Maya DiRado,and Katie Ledecky; Women's 4x200 Freestyle Relay -- Team USA was just under a second out of the lead when Ledecky entered the pool as the team's anchor, but once she was in, or Ledecky pulled out to a firm lead to win USA Swimming's eighth gold of these Olympics. preceding Slide Next Slide 1 of 12 Here’s every American victory at the Rio Olympics Team USA is once again expected to contend for the top spot in the medal count at this year's Olympics in Rio De Janeiro. Here are the athletes that have claimed the gold medal so far. View In Gallery Related stories from TheWrap:Why Olympics Stars Simone Biles,Aly Raisman and Michael Phelps Are TV's Social Media MVPsWGN Anchor Losing It Over NBC's Olympic Footage Restrictions Is Must-See TV (Video)Rio Olympics Rugby Player Accepts Proposal From Girlfriend on Fiel
Source: thewrap.com