A bombshell report from Melanie Ehrenkranz at Gizmodo on Tuesday alleges that Arianna Huffington, the founder of Huffington Post and Leftist darling, fostered an environment at Huffington Post replete with sexual harassment. According to Ehrenkranz:
Most notably, her history with a former managing editor whose “transfer” to launch HuffPost India was later revealed to be result of an HR investigation into whether he had sexually harassed multiple young women in the New York office. Gizmodo recently revisited those allegations and not only independently confirmed that the investigation was indeed the reason for that managing editor’s transfer, but that Huffington knew about his actions before they were reported to HR, according to a former employee with direct knowledge of the investigation.
Ehrenkranz continues, “By turning a blind eye, she bore ultimate responsibility for any issues that arose under her leadership.”
According to the report, Huffington cheered the “elevation” of Jimmy Soni, then-managing editor of the website. Soni had actually been bumped to Huffinton Post India, not exactly a vertical move. What prompted the move? Gawker reported that Soni was allegedly sexually harassing women in the newsroom. Gizmodo reports that they spoke with nine sources on background, all afraid of retaliation for speaking out; one of those sources stated that Soni was transferred because Huffington herself knew about the allegations before there were even HR ramifications.
Soni allegedly used the Huffington Post editorial fellow program to recruit possible paramours. Here’s Gizmodo:
One former staffer said that on one or two occasions while Soni was managing editor, he tried to kiss or make-out with her. She also added that when Soni took over as managing editor, “shit hit the fan,” and that he created a toxic work environment, enforcing unrealistic goals and working everyone tirelessly.
Another former staffer admits that as an 18-year-old intern, she was having a sexual relationship with her editor. Yet another former staffer alleges that Soni was sending her flirtatious messages via Facebook. One employee who still works at the company said that Huffington “would protect [her favorites] whether it’s for sexual misconduct or professional misdealings.”
Huffington Post has continuously posed as a Leftist beacon of decency toward women in the cruel media world. In May 2016, editor Liz Heron tweeted thusly:
Critics of Huffington Post complained at the time about the lack of racial diversity at the company as well.