Niero Gonzalaz/@dtoidniero Scammer Chloe Sagal story apology

Rolling edits of Niero Gonzalez/@dtoidniero Destructoid apology post for handling of the Chloe Sagal internet funding scam story


An apology and update

    Update 2:

    Allistair has since been suspended immediately, and we are investigating the situation as well as amending our internal policies on the matter. We are learning as we go. I have been consulting with Samantha Allen over Skype for two hours today and we are making great progress. Among other things, we talked about the violences that transgender people face everyday and how our outlet can become more committed to making this online community a safe space for people of all sexualities and gender identities.

    I want to make three things clear:

    (1) Destructoid did not act on this quickly enough because (due to E3 judges week) people were on airplanes or in meetings when it happened. This is in no way an excuse, I'm just stating that it was unfortunate timing. Once we heard about it we had to immediately develop a protocol for this, thus delaying my response. I apologize for this.

    (2) As far back as April 9 Allistair was advised NOT to post about his investigative findings. Allistair had become uncooperative with the EIC and me over this specific topic over the past few weeks. We were stunned to discover his behavior on Twitter despite his acknowledgement not to post any information the night prior to the incident. Other staff close to the investigation did not post. I want to be clear that he posted this on his on will, off of our site, against our wishes. Destructoid is in no way connected to his actions, nor was he instructed to do this. We asked for an immediate take down and deletion from his personal account the second we spotted it and began his employment review.

    (3) Chloe's IndieGoGo campaign (whether it was fradulent or not) is completely irrelevant to the ethics of Allistair's decision. IndieGoGo had cancelled the campaign already and the fact that it was fradulent does not in any way justify Allistair's decision to out her.

    Allistair has since sent us a very lengthy apology to both staff and the transgender community, which we will not republish (at the risk of exposing more facts about Chloe and others involved in this case from other sites), but in short he felt he was simply doing his job as a journalist and illustrates how much time on the phone and other personal time he spent with Chloe trying to save her life while also reporting all of the facts. There was a breach of confidence here that should have not occurred. What Allistair did was clearly wrong. He will already be paying for this for years to come, and he knows anything he says to excuse himself does not make it any more acceptable. I don't think he genuinely set out to do harm here and this is the ONLY reason he is given a due process instead of an immediate firing. Still, we are considering this matter very seriously.

    Effective immediately Allistair has been dismissed for now until we decide if this is a fireable offense, his pay has been suspended up until yesterday, and his title has been stripped. All of his email and site accounts have been suspended, and he has been removed from the staff page. We are currently evaluating what role he will have upon returning, if any. He is off the payroll.

    We have extremely strict policies on what is acceptable in social media and a three strikes rule before firing anyone. We are currently back-tracking through our records to make that final recommendation. We will update this thread when we have completed our investigation and heard all sides of the story.

    Until then, my deepest apologies to Chloe and the transgender community.

    Last edited by Niero; 05-17-2013 at 01:47 AM.

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An apology and update

    First of all, we at Destructoid absolutely do not post sensitive information given in confidence without a person's consent -- especially one which may put an individual's life at risk. That's just reckless.

    We would have published all of the investigative findings regarding the Indiegogo case except for the fact that it was closely tied to a person at risk of suicide. The fraud was uncovered, the public was informed, and people recovered their money. Yes, Allistair did a great job in uncovering that. Nobody is saying that he's not a good journalist. However beyond that, A PERSON'S LIFE IS AT RISK. TWICE. THAT PERSON IS NOW ON SUICIDE WATCH IN A HOSPITAL. THAT'S WHERE I DRAW THE LINE. ENOUGH.

    Lastly, there's another separate issue more specific to me where I simply asked an employee not to do something and they did it anyway. I have repeatedly asked an employee to not do something and they're doing it anyway. At any job this is a fireable offense.

    Anyone trying to correlate Allistair being fired for journalist work is completely misinformed. These are two separate events almost 6 weeks apart.


    Update 3:

    Allistair has been suspended from Destructoid for releasing sensitive information on social media against the wishes of his direct supervisor, some of which was privileged and personal information.

    We did not solicit the FAQ posted on Twitter.

    The facts surrounding this case are not clear, as Chloe remains hospitalized and unavailable for comment. Due to legal reasons, we not releasing any additional information at this time.

    We apologize for not releasing information sooner, but our resources are tight due to staff scattered to cover E3 in Los Angeles.

    Our apologies to everyone involved.

    Last edited by Niero; 05-17-2013 at 04:55 PM.

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An apology and update

    First of all, we at Destructoid absolutely do not post sensitive information given in confidence without a person's consent -- especially one which may put an individual's life at risk. That's just reckless.

    We would have published all of the investigative findings regarding the Indiegogo case except for the fact that it was closely tied to a person at risk of suicide. The fraud was uncovered, the public was informed, and people recovered their money. Yes, Allistair did a great job in uncovering that. Nobody is saying that he's not a good journalist.

    Allistair is NOT in trouble for uncovering the fraud and reporting it.

    We are super proud he went above and beyond the call of duty to investigate. Ultimately, we chose not to run the story because the person was a suicide risk. He would not be under any trouble had he stopped there.

    He is subsequently in trouble for what followed -- which was revealing confidential details that puts her life at risk. He has acknowledged this on his Twitter account since.


    A PERSON'S LIFE IS AT RISK. TWICE. THAT PERSON IS NOW ON SUICIDE WATCH IN A HOSPITAL. THAT'S WHERE I DRAW THE LINE. ENOUGH.

    Lastly, there's another separate issue more specific to me where I simply asked an employee not to do something and they did it anyway. I have repeatedly asked an employee to not do something and they're doing it anyway. At any job this is a fireable offense.

    Anyone trying to correlate Allistair being fired for journalist work is completely misinformed. These are two separate events almost 6 weeks apart.


    Update 3:

    Allistair has been suspended from Destructoid for releasing sensitive information on social media against the wishes of his direct supervisor, some of which was privileged and personal information.

    The facts surrounding this case are not clear, as Chloe remains hospitalized and unavailable for comment. Due to legal reasons, we not releasing any additional information at this time.

    We apologize for not releasing information sooner, but our resources are tight due to staff scattered to cover E3 in Los Angeles.

    Our apologies to everyone involved.

    Last edited by Niero; 05-17-2013 at 05:55 PM.