Pilots harass Quartz reporter after story

Hundreds of pilots and their fans have been harassing the Quartz reporter who wrote the story about them taking photos and videos while flying with vitriolic comments and, at times, threats of violence, reports Zach Seward of Quartz.

Seward writes, “The outcry started even before the piece was published on Dec. 11. ‘Heads Up. D-Bag Alert,’ began one thread on a message board for pilots, after Quartz sought comment from people who had posted images to Instagram that appeared to violate safety rules. After the story went online, the thread erupted with livid replies and an organized campaign to harass the reporter, David Yanofsky.

“‘This motherfucker needs to be put on the no fly list,’ wrote the anonymous organizer of a popular Facebook page, Shit Pilots Say, which has galvanized much of the response. Thousands of comments, many of them threatening, have been left on Yanofsky’s accounts on Facebook and Instagram. Photos of him have been turned into memes. Pilots have posted cockpit photos with the hashtag #StopYanofsky2014.”

Seward later wrote, “Harassing calls have been placed to Yanofsky’s cell phone and to at least one location where he used to live. His phone number and email address have been signed up for automated calls, student loan inquiries, spam, and other annoyances. Atlantic Media, which owns Quartz, was also inundated with angry calls to its headquarters in Washington, DC. Quartz’s Facebook page has been flooded with negative reviews.

“Some of the harassment has come from pilots for commercial airlines. One of the people involved appears to be a police officer. The vitriol is widespread, but hardly represents all pilots or readers of the piece.”

Read more here.