United States: Caroline Haskins Forcefully Expelled from Covering NYC Tech Conference
Haskins was forcibly removed while covering pro-Palestinian protests, highlighting growing concerns about press freedom.
Location: United States, New YorkDate: March 4, 2024
Women Press Freedom strongly condemns the forceful expulsion of Caroline Haskins from the MindTheTech conference in New York City on March 4, 2024. Haskins, a freelance reporter, was documenting a Google engineer protesting technology used by the Israeli government against Palestine when she was forcibly removed by security without explanation shortly after sharing videos of the protest online. We firmly denounce this blatant violation of press freedom and demand a clarification regarding Haskins' expulsion.
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On March 4, 2024, Caroline Haskins was forcibly removed from the MindTheTech conference in New York City for covering a Google software engineer's protest against Project Nimbus, a $1.2 billion cloud computing project involving Google, Amazon, and the Israeli government.
Subsequent to tweeting about the disruption — in which the engineer shouted "No tech for apartheid! Stop the genocide!” — a security guard approached the reporter, questioned her identity, and ordered her to leave.
“I asked why I had to leave and took out my phone,” Haskins shared on Twitter. “He grabbed my phone, which I quickly took back. He grabbed both my arms and shoved me outside, then yanked my press badge from my neck.”
When Haskins queried the reason for her expulsion, the guard purportedly replied that he was following management's instructions and advised her to contact the event organizers for further clarification.
Haskins tweeted on March 12 that she received an apology from a spokesperson who suggested her expulsion was a consequence of security removing all those filming during a contentious moment in Google CEO's TED Talk.
The MindTheTech conference aimed to highlight Israeli technology, but exposed the political discord among tech workers who contribute to tools used by the Israeli government. In the wake of the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel, the subsequent Israeli assault on Gaza has claimed over 30,000 lives as of March 4. This conflict is the most fatal for journalists to date.
“He grabbed my phone (...). He grabbed both my arms and shoved me outside, then yanked my press badge from my neck”
Women Press Freedom condemns Caroline Haskins's forceful removal from the conference. This act of censorship is a direct attack on the principles of freedom of speech and the press. Journalists must operate without fear of reprisal, intimidation, or violence, enabling them to report on matters of public interest freely. The response from the conference organizers, suggesting that the removal of individuals recording during a contentious moment was a misunderstanding, does not adequately address the severity of the situation. It is not enough to apologize without taking concrete steps to ensure such incidents do not recur. We demand a full explanation for the actions taken against Ms. Haskins and accountability from those responsible. The right to report on events, especially those of significant public interest, must be protected. Press freedom is a cornerstone of democracy, and any infringement upon this fundamental right must be met with resolute opposition.
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WPF strongly condemns the forceful expulsion of Caroline Haskins from the MindTheTech conference in New York City on March 4, 2024.