US H-1B Journalist Fired After Social Media Post Targeting Indian Origin CEO Sparks Outrage

New York, Nov 7: Journalist Matt Forney was fired by news outlet The Blaze within a week after posting anti India and racist remarks on social media targeting Indian origin executives. The outlet cited “concerning” social media posts as the reason for termination, though it did not specify which posts led to the decision.

Forney announced his firing on X (formerly Twitter), stating, “I have been let go from THE BLAZE. My Tweeting was cited as ‘concern[ing]’. I was not given specific examples of Tweets that they were ‘concerned’ about, and THE BLAZE had reached out to me BECAUSE of my Tweeting in the first place.”

The controversy began on November 4 when Forney posted that the US should “deport every Indian” and called Etsy’s incoming CEO, Kruti Patel Goyal, “unqualified.” He wrote, “Yet another unqualified Indian takes over an American company. And I guarantee her first action will be to fire every American and replace them with other Indians, either directly or via bodyshops.”

Forney’s social media history includes multiple anti India posts under the derogatory hashtag #OperationChimpOut, prompting widespread condemnation.

The backlash was swift. Renu Mukherjee, fellow at the Manhattan Institute, criticized Forney, saying, “Well, The Blaze just hired a ‘reporter’ whose entire beat is, apparently, to demonise a single ethnic group in the US—Indian Americans. ‘DEI’ or ‘Deport Every Indian’ as he writes.” She added that such remarks could harm GOP outreach to Indian voters.

Social media users questioned Forney’s claims, highlighting Patel Goyal’s 27 years of professional experience and expressing support for her qualifications.

Forney, a New York based writer and editor originally from Syracuse, previously founded Terror House Press and has over a decade of experience writing for businesses, legal firms, and tourism companies. He also offered copyediting and book editing services through his independent work.