Newslaundry has issued a statement defending its internal complaints mechanism amid allegations and criticism surrounding the organisation, claiming that it has had an Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) in place since 2017 and has acted on four complaints involving sexual harassment.
However, the organisation’s response has itself come under scrutiny after Atul Chaurasia, Newslaundry’s Managing Editor, shared the post accusing those raising allegations of acting “surreptitiously”, “stabbing us in the back” and making “baseless allegations”. The post was subsequently deleted.
This tweet has now been deleted. But imagine if anyone complaining was labelled as “acting surreptitiously” & “stabbing is in the back” & “baseless allegations”; imaging how much worse the harassment, abuse and gaslighting would’ve been in person? pic.twitter.com/X56nBGdehk
— Abhijit Iyer-Mitra (@Iyervval) August 12, 2026
The deleted post has raised an obvious question: how seriously can complaints be expected to be received when a senior editor publicly characterises those raising them in such terms?
Newslaundry Says It Has “Nothing To Hide”
In its note, Newslaundry said its ICC had received and acted upon four complaints since 2017, with outcomes including termination, suspension and other disciplinary action.
The organisation stated that it has been compliant with the Prevention of Sexual Harassment (POSH) law and acknowledged that compliance does not mean there is no scope for improvement.
It also invited current and former employees associated with Newslaundry to write to the organisation.
However, the tone of the statement changed when it addressed the wider conversation surrounding the allegations.
Newslaundry claimed that it had observed the “vile and slanderous” nature of conversations surrounding the organisation and several members of its staff over the previous five days.
It characterised some allegations against its colleagues as “unsubstantiated and fictitious” and said there was nothing for the organisation to hide.
The statement further said that the decision of its colleagues not to respond to what it described as abuse and lies should not be interpreted as defensiveness or weakness.
Newslaundry concluded by invoking its founding principle that nobody should be above scrutiny or criticism, adding that it would not stop or be intimidated.
Chaurasia’s Deleted Post Raises Questions
Newslaundry’s claim that it ‘welcomes scrutiny’ sits uneasily with Managing Editor Atul Chaurasia’s now-deleted post, in which he described those raising allegations as acting “surreptitiously”, “stabbing us in the back” and making “baseless allegations”. Yes, the post was later deleted. But for an organisation that claims to encourage complaints, publicly dismissing allegations and casting critics as bad-faith actors hardly inspires confidence.
Newslaundry’s Hollow Defence
Newslaundry says its ICC has handled four complaints since 2017, including cases resulting in termination and suspension. Yet its statement simultaneously dismisses current allegations as “unsubstantiated and fictitious” and calls the surrounding discussion “vile and slanderous”. Having an ICC does not answer questions about how present complaints were handled. For a media outlet that routinely demands accountability from others, preaches to others, simply labelling allegations baseless is not transparency, it is defensiveness.
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