The reporter, Farnaz Fassihi, has gone beyond reporting on Aghdashloo to implicate his family, including his ex-wife.
Following the release of the article, Farnaz Fassihi reached out directly to Aydin Aghdashloo’s collaborators, sharing the article and questioning their continued work with him, reportedly with an intimidating tone.
In her “follow-up article,” Farnaz Fassihi then reached out to collaborators of Aghdashloo’s daughter and misreported festivals that had selected her film — one of the many and continued inaccuracies in her reporting.
The New York Times also sent a reporter to his ex-wife’s place of work, where he has no shares or direct ties, without warning, to ask questions about the article and their relationship. Farnaz Fassihi has also engaged Mr. Aghdashloo’s collaborators and business partner with questions related to the article.
One of Mr. Aghdashloo’s acquaintances, spoke on condition of anonymity due to fear of retaliation by Ms. Fassihi stated:
“[Fassihi] was only interested in negative comments against Mr. Aghdashloo and wasn’t looking for truth. She got upset when I told her I’ve never witnessed any wrongdoing by Mr. Aghdashloo and insisted on him being guilty. It was as if she had already made her decision. It wasn’t the type of behavior I was expecting from a reporter.”
One of those interviewed by Farnaz Fassihi
These activities fall well outside the pursuit of journalistic understanding and suggests a focused effort to defame and harm the Aghdashloo family.