The New York Times said it took disciplinary action against a journalist who admitted to leaking data about a WhatsApp group chat about Jewish business people that led to its members being harassed and harassed by pro-Palestinian activists.
Natasha Frost, a Times reporter based in Melbourne, Australia, earlier this year downloaded and shared 900 pages of content from private WhatsApp conversations initiated by Jewish professionals in response to the October 7 terrorist attacks. of Hamas who claimed the lives of nearly 1,200 Israelis.
Frost admitted to the Wall Street Journal that she shared the information with an individual before it fell into the hands of anti-Zionist activists.
Hundreds of group chat participants were shocked to discover their personal information was being circulated online – leading to online and in-person harassment that escalated to the point where some were forced to leave their homes.
A Times spokesman told the Journal that the paper had “reviewed the matter and taken appropriate action” when it learned of Frost’s actions.
“It has been noted that a New York Times reporter inappropriately shared information with the subject of a story to assist the individual in a private matter, a clear violation of our ethics,” a newspaper spokeswoman said.
“This was done without the knowledge or approval of the Times.”
Frost told the Journal that she shared the information with a person who then shared the details without her permission.
“Its subsequent dissemination and misuse occurred entirely without my knowledge or consent,” Frost said. “I was shocked by these events, which put me and many others in terrible danger.”
Frost added: “I deeply regret my decision and do not plan to comment further.”
Frost gained access to the WhatsApp group in November, just weeks after the Hamas attack.
In December, some members of the group began agitating for action against the Australian Broadcasting Corporation over its decision to hire journalist Antoinette Lattouf as a part-time radio presenter.
Lattouf, a Lebanese-born Australian, sparked controversy with social media posts accusing Israel of war crimes.
ABC terminated Lattouf midway through her five-day contract — prompting her to file a grievance alleging she was the victim of racial discrimination.
Frost’s byline appeared in a Times story that ran Jan. 23 about Lattouf’s firing.
Days before the story went live, Frost left the WhatsApp group. Soon after, details from the group chat appeared on various websites and were widely shared among pro-Palestinian netizens.
Created a spreadsheet that lists names, photos, job titles and quotes from the WhatsApp group.
One of the members of the WhatsApp group, Joshua Moshe, said he and his wife started receiving threatening phone calls and emails, calling them baby killers and genocidal maniacs.
They also received a message showing a photo of their 5-year-old son.
Moshe’s gift shop in Melbourne was vandalized with graffiti and stickers of crossed Israeli flags calling on potential customers to boycott the store.
Moshe ended up closing his shop. He then took his wife and child and left their neighborhood.
A Jewish secondary school teacher based in Melbourne who also took part in the WhatsApp chat said her school received phone calls and threats from anonymous callers who accused her of being an “accomplice in genocide”.
Other professionals who participated in the WhatsApp chat reported losing job and business opportunities.
The incident prompted Mark Dreyfus, the Attorney General of Australia, to propose a law that would criminalize doxy.
Dreyfus said the new laws would strengthen Australia’s protections against hate speech, but gave few details on how they would work.
“The increasing use of online platforms to harm people through practices like doxxing, the malicious release of their personal information without their permission, is a deeply disturbing development,” Dreyfus, who is Jewish, told reporters.
“The recent victimization of members of the Australian Jewish community through practices such as doxxing was shocking but, unfortunately, this is far from an isolated incident,” Dreyfus added.
By postal wire
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