Independent's Article on Reddit Fiasco Doesn't Name Challenor

[FightingTheFoo]

Errr what?!

https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/reddit-politics-moderator-private-b1822228.html

The irony of course is that it was an Independent story on Challenor that Bindel linked to in her Spectator piece. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/aimee-challenor-father-rape-election-agent-green-party-investigation-a8725701.html

Why so shy all of a sudden?

Ah, the author has pronouns in his Twitter bio. Wonder if that explains it. Feel free to tweet him to ask: @adamndsmith

the individual/the individual/the individual/the moderator/the employee

that's an absurd amoutn of effort to go to to avoid using the name of The Individual, especially when it's linked within the article.

This is all very odd.

Reporter also has 'All things are about tech except tech, which is about power' in his Twitter bio, funnily enough

FFS - it's all so ridiculous, apart from anything does Adam really think people aren't going to hop onto twitter and find out exactly who he's referring too

why are people so desperate to protect AK?

Maybe their legal bods are being super careful?
If I was an investigative journalist I'd be keeping my powder as dry as possible.

Most of these sorts of things cascade to a halt very fast when the cover-up becomes the story, so people need to avoid any perception of being seen to be involved in the cover-up.

It's a similar group dynamic to what you get in purity spirals or witch hunts, but this time it has an overall positive effect.

So needling people about reports like that to ask why they're withholding information, and question their motives, is probably quite productive around now.

@ErrolTheDragon

Maybe their legal bods are being super careful? If I was an investigative journalist I'd be keeping my powder as dry as possible.

I'd wager The Times has a better legal team than the Independent, which is now a bit of a joke media operation, and they've named Challenor.

Perhaps though by not naming in the article itself, more people may be inclined to click the links to work out wtf it's about. Not necessarily a deliberate ploy, but that might be how it works in practice?

@ErrolTheDragon

Perhaps though by not naming in the article itself, more people may be inclined to click the links to work out wtf it's about. Not necessarily a deliberate ploy, but that might be how it works in practice?

From reading the author's profile I just can't be that generous in my assumption. I think it's a (crap) attempt at a cover up or, at best, not wanting to be accused of some kind of "bigotry".

You're very probably right but the attempt at obscurity may well backfire.

That's a particularly shit piece of journalism. Absolutely no reason, legal or otherwise, not to name Challenor. Also: "It is also unclear exactly what position the individual had at Reddit." The journalist could have done what I did which was to look up Challenor's LinkedIn profile - the work of a couple of minutes - and the only reason it took that long was because the profile is under the name Aimee K.

Absolute joke of a "news"paper

The Independent is fit only for lining my cat's litter tray. The Guardian is not even good enough for that.

Why bother running the story at all if you are not going to report the relavent facts.