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'Shady journalists' must be investigated: Ashton Kutcher sparks debate

Written by : TNM

The News Minute | November 20, 2014 | 6.27 pm IST
Hollywood actor Ashton Kutcher’s comments supporting an Uber executive’ remarks that the personal lives of journalists who are critical of the company are fair game, have snowballed into a huge controversy.

Here’s a quick timeline of who said what, and when:

Journalist Sarah Lacy wrote an article accusing Uber of misogyny and sexism.

Senior Uber executive Emil Michael mooted the idea of investigating the personal lives of journalists who were critical of the company. At a private dinner, he said that four top opposition researchers and four journalists could be hired to help Uber fight back against the media. 

Such a team would look into “your personal lives, your families,” and give the media a taste of its own medicine. He particularly targeted Lacy.
Later, he said that what he said was wrong, and that irrespective of the circumstances, the views were wrong.

Ashton Kutcher supported Emil’s views calling for investigation of “shady journalists”, and even laughed at comment on making journalists disappear.

This sequence of events has created a huge controversy, with many people expressing all shades of opinion. Lacy may have been on the right track or there may be no truth to the allegations in her story. But were the statements of Emil and their later endorsement by Kutcher justified?

Have a look at the tweets, and comment below!

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