Al Jazeera staff allege harassment and bullying went unchecked
BBC NewsOct 17, 2022
A recent BBC report has revealed allegations of widespread bullying and sexual harassment from employees of the Qatar-based broadcaster Al Jazeera.
According to the report, Kamahl Santamaria, one of the channel's top journalists for 16 years, made sexually-suggestive comments and sent inappropriate messages to colleagues on social media and the outlet's email system. Employees also alleged unwanted touching and kissing in the office.
Al Jazeera fostered a toxic work culture for years, where a powerful man's inappropriate behavior was left unchecked because of his stardom. Santamaria was the catalyst for creating a workspace where high-level employees could harass their colleagues without fear of repercussions - this is unacceptable and deeply exploitative.
In a democratic society, the assumption is supposed to be "innocent until proven guilty." Santamaria hasn't been formally charged with anything. We should wait until we have all the information to make judgments, instead of letting the #MeToo monster continue ruining men's careers before the facts are made clear.