Huffington Post South African edition in a Scandal

[Y2kTheNewOldies]

http://www.sabc.co.za/news/a/a12eb2...ef-of-The-Huffington-Post-SA-resigns-20170422

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.za/201...r-shelley-garland-hate-speech-blo_a_22050723/

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.za/201...pted-shelley-garlands-resignation_a_22046493/

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.za/201...shelley-garland-and-why-he-did-it_a_22046533/



The Post involved an opinion page that was pretty racist and it triggered the South African Management of the Huffington Post and it lead to a major scandal. The writer Shelley Garland aka Marius Roodt was playing the "performance artist" card n the rants. He apparently wanted to start a conversation in his talking points.



Now the editor Verashni Pillay has left the South African edition of Huffington post as a fallout from this scandal. Plus Now Huffington Post now puts out Ethical guidelines for their writers.

 

[Will_H_69_9]

playing the "performance artist" card, where have i heard this excuse before

oh wait, that's right, Alex Jones did the same thing in court recently during his custody hearing for his kids. and we all know he ain't no performance artist at all.

 

[Y2kTheNewOldies]

http://www.heraldlive.co.za/news/2017/04/22/huffpost-sa-found-guilty-hate-speech-blog-white-men/

Update the South African Press Ombudsman has came up with the verdict and Hufffington Post is guilty for a racial rant.

A blog calling for white men to be disenfranchised‚ published by news website The Huffington Post SA‚ was discriminatory and constituted hate speech‚ press ombudsman Johan Retief found on Saturday.

The publication was ordered to publish an unreserved apology for its “serious misconduct” – the most serious breach of the press code of ethics.

“Let me be short and sweet: If disenfranchisement of anybody (whether white males or black females for that matter) is not discriminatory‚ the meaning of discrimination should be redefined‚” Retief wrote in a hard-hitting 14-page finding.

“I do not believe for one moment that such discriminatory and denigratory opinions can be described as being in the public interest – especially given this country’s history of its struggle for liberation.

“To disenfranchise a section of the population once again would indeed represent a huge step backwards – one that may have some serious unforeseen consequences.”

The finding follows multiple complaints lodged since the blog appeared on the Facebook page of the Huffington Post website on April 13 under the headline “Could it be time to deny white men the franchise?”

Retief lambasted the Huffington Post for not verifying the true identity of the blog author‚ who turned out to be 37-year-old white male Marius Roodt. Roodt submitted the piece to various news publications using the pseudonym Shelley Garland‚ claiming to be a student activist currently completing a degree in philosophy.

Retief rebuked Huffington Post SA editor-in-chief Verashni Pillay for initially defending the blog following the public outcry. Pillay claimed the blog was “pretty standard for feminist theory” and that there was “nothing in the article that should have shocked or surprised anybody”.

Pillay subsequently distanced herself from the blog‚ which was removed from the Huffington Post site: “We have immediately bolstered and strengthened our blogging procedures that‚ until now‚ have operated on the basis of open communication and good faith. From now on‚ bloggers will have to verify themselves‚” Pillay said.

However Retief’s ruling means the publication must also publish an unreserved apology which points out that the published text was malicious‚ inaccurate‚ against the public interest‚ discriminatory and denigratory‚ amounted to hate speech‚ and “impaired the dignity of reputation of many people”.

Retief criticised Pillay’s handling of the matter‚ and said her online comments had created the impression that she (and the publication) had “no serious problems with the content of the blog” and that the major error had been Roodt concealing his true identity.

“The main problem with the blog was ‘internal’‚ not ‘external’ – it was not a fault in the system‚ as Pillay alleges (as a decision was made to publish the blog – it did not just slip in by itself); if was not an accident‚ it was a mistake made by the editor and her editorial team‚” Retief said.

Pillay this week did publish a partial personal apology on the site‚ insisting she did not hate white men: “I did not make it clear enough in my initial response that I absolutely do not agree with the disenfranchisement of any group of people.”

http://www.iol.co.za/news/opinion/we-hope-verashni-pillay-will-edit-again-8792077

Also this Hope for the best for Pillay but verification was not well played here for an editorial

https://qz.com/966763/huffington-po...ter-fake-blog-on-denying-white-men-franchise/
https://archive.fo/lmHPC#selection-1745.491-1745.633

Fallout at play here.