For the Daily Beast, the past week has been a news outlet’s worst nightmare: earlier this week, a Daily Beast writer decided to do an investigative dive into the gay dating scene at the Rio Olympic village by using the gay dating app, Grindr. Nico Hines’ article, published Wednesday, included details of several different athletes he matched with–height, weight, age, etc. After the article went live seemingly every other web-based outlet on the planet wrote their own pieces about the “sleazy,” and “wildly unethical” story. And on Thursday evening, after heavily revising the article while keeping it up on its site, the Daily Beast removed it entirely.

After removing the article, “The Other Olympic Sport In Rio: Swiping,” editors at the Daily Beast wrote a note condemning their judgement on allowing the article to be written and then revising it while not removing it.

Today we did not uphold a deep set of The Daily Beast’s values. These values—which include standing up to bullies and bigots, and specifically being a proudly, steadfastly supportive voice for LGBT people all over the world—are core to our commitment to journalism and to our commitment to serving our readers.

The Daily Beast was founded in 2010 to “seek out scoops, scandals and stories about secret worlds; we love confronting bullies, bigots and hypocrites,” according to its editor-in-chief John Avalon. But with Hines’ article, some instead saw the outlet as being similar to the people it claimed to be confronting:

shame on @NicoHines/@thedailybeast. LGBTQ+ people deserve respect. we are not your zoo animals. so infuriating. https://t.co/wgCXgTtFyU

— Tyler Oakley (@tyleroakley) August 11, 2016

Amini Fonua, a gay swimmer from Tonga, posted a series of tweets in response to Hines’ article, expressing his concern that in some countries–such as Tonga–being gay is illegal. 

It is still illegal to be gay in Tonga, and while I’m strong enough to be me in front of the world, not everybody else is. Respect that.

— Amini Fonua (@AminiFonua) August 11, 2016

Imagine the one space you can feel safe, the one space you’re able to be yourself, ruined by a straight person who thinks it’s all a joke?

— Amini Fonua (@AminiFonua) August 11, 2016

Hines has yet to respond to his critics, but the Daily Beast owned up to its mistake, and vowed to never act against its ethics again. “We were wrong. We will do better,” the editors wrote.

Alec Siegel

Alec Siegel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. When he’s not working at Law Street he’s either cooking a mediocre tofu dish or enjoying a run in the woods. His passions include: gooey chocolate chips, black coffee, mountains, the Animal Kingdom in general, and John Lennon. Baklava is his achilles heel. Contact Alec at ASiegel@LawStreetMedia.com.

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In a news story making waves across the UK, a man has been arrested and charged with four murders. He is accused of using the popular gay dating and hook up app Grindr as a means to find his victims.

Stephen Port, 40, of East London, has been linked to the deaths of four different young gay men.

Google News: Stephen Port charged with four murders in Barking – BBC News http://t.co/Fn7ikac1Oz

— Ciscaucasia (@ciscaucasia) October 19, 2015

All four were found in the yard of a church and died as the result of high doses of GHB. GHB, sometimes called “liquid ecstasy” is best known as a date-rape drug. It suppresses the central nervous system. In large doses, it can be fatal.

The first victim, Anthony Patrick Walgate, 23, was discovered in June 2014. Then Gabriel Kovari, 22, was found in August 2014, and Daniel Whitworth, 21, was found in September. The final victim, Jack Taylor, 25, was found this September. Their professions ranged from working at a warehouse to studying fashion. Port allegedly met all four of them on “gay dating websites,” such as popular mobile app Grindr. According to police, he then brought them back to his apartment before giving them GHB. It’s unclear whether he intended to kill his victims, or just drug them. If he did intend to kill them, it is also unclear what his motive was.

Even more strangely, at least two of the victims appear to have been connected. Kovari and Whitworth, who were killed just one month apart knew each other, and according to some sources, may have been in a relationship. Allegedly, when Whitworth was found, there was a note in his hand that claimed that he had killed Kovari. Why Port planted that note–possibly to send the police in the wrong direct–is yet another facet of this case that has yet to be solved.

Port appeared in court and was charged with the killings on Monday. He has been officially charged with four counts of murder, as well as four counts of administering a poison with intent to endanger life or inflict grievous bodily harm.

For many, this story may appear as a clear “I told you so” when it comes to the use of dating/hook up apps like Grindr or Tinder. That being said, while one should always use caution when meeting up with someone they’ve met through technological means, this is clearly a particularly tragic and terrifying isolated incident.

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

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ICYMI, check out Law Street’s top three article of the week, including the latest installment of dumb laws from Marisa Mostek; the latest news in alcohol laws from Anneliese Mahoney; and hookup site Grindr getting out of legal trouble when one of its members had sex with an underage user.

#1 Dumbest Laws of the United States: Vermont, New Hampshire, & Maine

New Hampshire came close to earning the same honor as its neighbor, Vermont–but not quite as it still has some of the dumbest laws in the country. The Granite State attempts to keep its residents and visitors as authentic as possible: it is illegal to check into a hotel under an assumed name. Also, no matter how delicious you may find seaweed, you cannot pick up the oceanic goody on the beach to munch on (or use for any purpose, for that matter). Read full article here.

#2 Federal Government OKs Powdered Alcohol

There’s a new product floating around that is threatening to be a big game-changer for the alcohol industry. It’s called “Palcohol” and it’s powdered alcohol. Since the idea of powdered alcohol began being floated around, regulators have been worried about its potential for abuse–despite that Palcohol just received federal approval this week. Read full article here.

#3 Grindr Found Not Liable For Man’s Sexual Encounter With Minor

Many sites that are intended for adults, such as dating sites, come with a disclaimer that states, “You must be at least 18 years or older to use this site.” New Jersey native William F. Saponaro, Jr. was under the impression that warning was true when he logged into hisGrindr account to meet available men. Instead Saponaro met up with a 13-year-old boy, had sex with him, and then was arrested for the act. Saponaro ended up being prosecuted for engaging in a sexual act with a minor. Read full article here.

Chelsey D. Goff

Chelsey D. Goff was formerly Chief People Officer at Law Street. She is a Granite State Native who holds a Master of Public Policy in Urban Policy from the George Washington University. She’s passionate about social justice issues, politics — especially those in First in the Nation New Hampshire — and all things Bravo. Contact Chelsey at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post ICYMI: Best of the Week appeared first on Law Street.

Many sites that are intended for adults, such as dating sites, come with a disclaimer that states, “You must be at least 18 years or older to use this site.” New Jersey native William F. Saponaro, Jr. was under the impression that warning was true when he logged into his Grindr account to meet available men. Instead Saponaro met up with a 13-year-old boy, had sex with him, and then was arrested for the act. Saponaro ended up being prosecuted for engaging in a sexual act with a minor.

According to the Washington Post, the mix up led him to sue the gay “hook up” app Grindr for negligence on the grounds that it was the ones who set him up with a minor in the first place. Despite Saponaro being 52 years old and presumably capable of discerning someone’s age, he claims that he was operating under the assumption that Grindr’s Terms of Service, which require its users to be at least 18 and older to use it services, were being enforced.

Unfortunately for Mr. Saponaro, the lawsuit was thrown out by a federal judge who determined that Grindr functions as an interactive computer service. As a result, it’s covered by the federal Communications Decency Act and therefore could not be found negligent in this case.

New Jersey Chief U.S. District Court Judge Jerome Simandle stated:

Holding interactive service providers liable for third-party communications would have chilling implications for free speech on the internet.

Even though Saponaro claims he was tricked, he’s hardly the first person to be duped when using an online dating site. MTV has captivated millions of viewers addressing that issue with its hit show “Catfish,” which profiles people all across the country who have had their hearts swindled by online impostors. Even more recently, popular matchmaking app Tinder was used by a team of creative marketers to catfish users at the music, film, and tech festival SXSW.

Robots have taken over @Tinder at #SXSW. http://t.co/bkrOk5w0brpic.twitter.com/VYyiBhEJrv

— Maxim (@MaximMag) March 16, 2015

According to Techcrunch.com, a company promoting the movie “Ex Machina” created the fake account, Ava, using a photo of the star of the movie. Ava’s profile was run by chatbots–computer programs designed to simulate intelligent conversations. These scripted robots sent her matches to an Instagram page (which has since been deleted) for the movie, revealing the whole thing was a sham.

Cases like these are only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to examples of online impersonation. They should come as no surprise when our current digital landscape makes lying about your age, name, or even what you look like far too easy. For that reason users should be more cautious when looking for love online, because as seen in the case of Mr. Saponaro, you are solely responsible for verifying someone is who they say they are .

Alexis Evans

Alexis Evans is an Assistant Editor at Law Street and a Buckeye State native. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and a minor in Business from Ohio University. Contact Alexis at aevans@LawStreetMedia.com.

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