Newslaundry, a self-styled media watchdog, faces mounting allegations of misogyny, bullying and mishandling of sexual-harassment complaints after a 2014 letter defending Tarun Tejpal resurfaced. Former staffers describe a toxic newsroom marked by abusive language, intimidation and hostile treatment of women journalists, prompting wider questions about hypocrisy, accountability and moral grandstanding in Indian media.
NEWSLAUNDRY has often branded itself as an organization that holds other media outlets accountable. It has repeatedly raised questions about the ethics and practices of different newsrooms, positioning itself as a watchdog of the Indian media. However, recent flurry of allegations raised against the digital media outlet has now put the self-proclaimed watchdog under the lens.
The controversy began after a 2014 open letter defending former Tehelka editor Tarun Tejpal resurfaced online after the Bombay High Court convicted him of rape and other charges. The letter, directly addressed to the assault victim, had questioned her account of events and described her as the flagpole of “bubblegum feminism”. After the online backlash following High Court’s verdict, the article written by Nirupama Sekhri, sister of the Newslaundry CEO Abhinandan Sekhri, was subsequently removed from its website.
However, it didn’t end the controversy. In a recent development, former employees and journalists who had interacted with Newslaundry began sharing their own experiences, raising questions about the organization’s work culture. From abusive language from seniors to personal attacks against women journalists to unresolved questions around sexual harassment complaints the allegations levied against the “media watchdog” has turned heads of the public.
Another account came from Sayantan Ghosh, who joined Newslaundry as a trainee journalist in 2016, who wrote a detailed account in an X post. He had recently graduated from college and was working as a content writer in Bengaluru when he accepted an unpaid internship with the digital media outlet with the expectation that good performance could eventually lead to a paid position.
He later moved to Delhi, expecting to work in an independent newsroom. Instead, he said, he found an “extremely toxic” environment.
According to Ghosh, the language used by Newslaundry co-founder Abhinandan Sekhri towards employees was “deeply hurtful.” He said colleagues told him that this was “normal” in the media and this is simply how newsrooms worked. Instead of calling out the toxic behaviour, he was allegedly told to develop a thick skin.
However, Ghosh said he did not accept that explanation. He compared his experience with his earlier internships at The New Indian Express in Bengaluru and The Telegraph in Kolkata, saying editors there treated interns with basic courtesy.
Ghosh recalled one particularly harsh episode after he worked on a story related to Section 66A. He alleged that the verbal abuse became so severe that he lied to the person he was reporting to and left the workplace. He eventually returned to Kolkata after his parents arranged a train ticket.
Ghosh said he had thought about speaking about the experience several times but remained silent because he questioned whether he was simply being “too sensitive” and also feared intimidation.
The current controversy surrounding Newslaundry, he said, finally pushed him to speak. He wrote, “I knew how people could be bullied and intimidated, and for a long time I doubted myself. I questioned whether I was being too sensitive, whether this really was “normal”, whether I simply did not understand how the media worked. Today, as many people are talking I think it was important for me to speak up. I am speaking only about what I experienced [...] But I think I should have spoken about this much earlier.”
Other former employees have also raised questions about the organisation’s internal handling of workplace complaints. Sumedha, a journalist for The Reporter’s Collective, who previously worked at Newslaundry, responded to the removal of 2014 letter to Tejpal’s victim on X. She wrote that Newslaundry should “reflect just as seriously on the sexual harassment complaints within their own newsroom” just as much.
She further shared her fellow journalist’s posts alleging “mental and sexual harassment” within the organization. Sumedha replied to one of them, writing, “I just wish all of us had spoken up before.”
One of the most detailed accounts has come from journalist Jyoti Yadav, currently working with ThePrint. In a series of Instagram stories, she recalled an incident from 2019, when she was a “25-year-old cub reporter, barely starting out.” She had pitched a story looking at how mainstream media was obsessing over Narendra Modi’s carefully constructed image as a patriarch, including references to his “56-inch chest.” A similar story, she claims, was done by Manish Pande, host of Newslaundry’s popular show TV Newsance, herself.
According to Yadav, Newslaundry’s Hindi editor responded to her story by commissioning a piece that she described as “misogynistic, sexist, and personally attacking” towards her. She alleged that a Facebook troll was then used to “hound” her through phone calls. When she finally answered one of the calls, she said she made it clear that she was not interested in speaking. The eventual Newslaundry article, according to Yadav, misquoted her and carried a Hindi headline that loosely translated to “ThePrint Makes Reporter’s Fantasy a Headline.”
Yadav said she objected to the article but was particularly disturbed that the editor had not contacted her to verify the quotes attributed to her. She wrote on Instagram, “He didn’t even bother to ask me if the quotes attributed to me were correct despite me being one of their contributors.”
The 2014 Tejpal letter has brought back the same concerns for ThePrint reporter, who wrote, “When I read their attacking piece on Tejpal’s victim, I clearly see a pattern. The boys locker room mindset running the newsrooms.”
She also questioned how an organisation that frequently speaks against misogyny could itself allegedly create a hostile environment for women. “You want to drag out right-wingers to court on misogyny, while your own misogyny goes unchecked? You feel entitled and powerful enough to call headlines given by editors a woman reporter’s ‘fantasy’?” Yadav wrote.
She ended her string of stories questioning how long such behaviour could continue “under the guise of ‘speaking against a regime.’”
Senior journalist Barkha Dutt also weighed in on the controversy on X, framing it as a larger question of humility and accountability in journalism. She argued that the problem begins when a newsroom starts believing it is so morally superior to others that it can become a “preacher & pulpit, doing long pieces on other newsrooms, based on exactly the sort of testimonies (often unnamed) that are now challenging you.”
She continued, “Anyone with a god complex will invariably be cut to size. This has literally nothing to do with media wars, or BJP vs Opposition. It’s the oldest proverb we learnt in nursery - those who live in glass houses should not throw stones at others.”
Dutt added that remembering that every newsroom is imperfect could go a long way in preventing arrogance and what she described as “humbug”.
In a separate post, she also pointed towards a Newslaundry column on consent which, according to her, contained a “bizarre reference” to “happily married rapists and victims.”
Although there is no verification of the allegations levied against the media organization, the number of former employees now speaking about their experiences has created a difficult question for Newslaundry. The controversy is no longer only about a decade-old letter defending Tarun Tejpal as a similar pattern of behaviour has been reported by journalists. Newslaundry has not responded to these allegations so far.
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