Rio 2016: Daily Beast removes article ‘outing gay athletes’ using Grindr after complaints

The article examined the ease of hooking up in the athletes' village

The article investigated the ease of hooking up in the athletes' village (AP)

A US news site has taken the unprecedented step of removing a controversial article that was accused of potentially outing a number of gay athletes - and even endangering their lives - at the Rio 2016 Olympics.

The article in The Daily Beast about the apparent ease of hooking up in the athletes’ village in Rio, sparked widespread criticism after it included details about the individuals that could have identified them. Gay activists complained that the article was exploitative, may have identified athletes from countries where homosexuality remains outlawed and could have put their lives at risk.

Amid a welter of criticism, the website initially posted an amended, edited version of the article. However, as the concerns continued, a decision was taken to remove it.

“The Daily Beast does not do this lightly,” the website said. “As shared in our editor’s note earlier today, we initially thought swift removal of any identifying characteristics and better clarification of our intent was the adequate way to address this. Our initial reaction was that the entire removal of the piece was not necessary.”

In the article, the reporter had described how he used online dating, including popular gay app Grindr, to get dates with athletes.

Their writer described how he used the apps and he got three dates within an hour, and detailed what some men wrote on their profiles.

He also gave details of their height, weight, nationality, and a description of their profile picture.

“We were wrong,” the website’s editors said. “We’re sorry. And we apologise to the athletes who may have been inadvertently compromised by our story.”

US Olympic skier Gus Kenworthy, who is openly gay, accused the publication of ”entrapment“, while Tongan swimmer Amini Fonua said The Daily Beast ”ought to be ashamed“.

“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?“ he tweeted.

The Society of Professional Journalists, a body representing journalists in America, also criticised the ethics of the story.

“Such a story has no place in a modern media organisation,” it said, adding that the athletes affected deserved an apology.

Homosexuality is a criminal offence in more than 70 countries, including some where it is punishable by death, including Iran, Mauritania, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Yemen.