Don Hazen resigns as publisher of progressive news site AlterNet

AlterNet’s publisher, Don Hazen, resigned from the progressive news website on Friday after at least five women came forward with allegations of sexual harassment against the media executive.

The move follows an extensive report by BuzzFeed on harassment allegations against Hazen, which include inappropriately touching and sexualizing female staff members. According to the report, Hazen sent multiple women explicit messages, and in at least one case showed a reporter a lewd photograph.

According to the report, Hazen singled out “the youngest, least experienced women — those with the fewest professional connections” for harassment.

The nonprofit Independent Media Institute, which owns AlterNet, placed Hazen on “indefinite leave, effective immediately.”

Hazen, who founded AlterNet in 1997, was formerly a publisher at the progressive magazine Mother Jones.

In a statement, Hazen told BuzzFeed he denies “most of [the] allegations.”

Editor’s note: The author of this article was a reporter at AlterNet in 2016. Raw Story handles advertising sales for AlterNet.