Farai Chideya. (YouTube) / Image of Chideya's tweet. (Screenshot)
Journalist and author Farai Chideya said she came under fire earlier this month and was called an antisemite for saying statistician and journalist Nate Silver was a “terrible boss.” She tagged Silver in her tweet.
“I’ve been called everything from a racist to an antisemite (thanks for pushing back, folks) for calling out my former boss @NateSilver538. I want to say again, as I did in a reply, that Nate was a terrible boss to many men too,” Chideya tweeted on Wednesday, Jan. 25.
“This is not old news. I lived through a case study of the way journalism failed civil society. It was painful watching it from the inside, Chideya added in a follow-up tweet.” Relevant now b/c the failure to cover 2016 competently helped undermine the civil society of today… and tomorrow. Real harms.”
Chideya, who is Black, is an award-winning writer and academic who currently hosts the syndicated public radio show “Our Body Politic.” According to her bio, Chideya worked for Silver in 2016 when he led FiveThirtyEight.com as a reporter focused on demographics and the American voter.
Silver, who said he is half-Jewish, is a veteran news correspondent and blogger who’s worked for several outlets – including the popular FiveThirtyEight, an outlet he founded that uses statistical analysis to make predictions. ESPN, which ultimately purchased the site, which he continued to lead.
The tweet Chideya received backlash for was sent Tuesday, Jan. 24, one day before she spoke out about receiving unwarranted backlash and false accusations.
“I had some wonderful friends and allies at @FiveThirtyEight. But Nate Silver was a terrible boss, especially to women and people of color,” Chideya tweeted in response to an article from The Daily Beast saying the outlet was on the “chopping block” at ABC. “Someone should do a bit of data journalism on how long women lasted on average there. And that made the journalism worse.”
“Nate is not some shotgun-carrying white supremacist. Far worse, for the American newsroom, he is a smug dude who thinks he knows everything and could not see the biggest f*cking political story of our lifetimes even with brand new glasses. He cut stories and narratives we needed,” Chideya elaborated.
She also went on the embed a link to a podcast in which she said she detailed her experiences at the company.
Chideya ended her tweets on a positive note, expressing her appreciation for what she gleaned from her experiences at FiveThirtyEight.
“So, thanks to the people who cared for a nurtured me at FiveThirtyEight. And thanks to Nate too. All experiences can be teachers. I am grateful for the journey,” Chideya concluded her tweets about the situation.
