Crypto Twitter expresses outrage over “softball” coverage of former FTX CEO in the wake of the exchange’s bankruptcy and shady financial practices.
In a tweet today, Input Output Global founder Charles Hoskinson asserted that Sam Bankman-Fried’s political donations shield him from accountability even from the media.
Guys it might be a good idea to donate some money to certain politicians. It seems that you can get away with anything and have zero media accountability. https://t.co/62mQpwW0Oz
— Charles Hoskinson (@IOHK_Charles) November 15, 2022
It comes in response to a New York Times article covering the collapse of FTX featuring details from an hour-long interview with the former FTX CEO. Several industry participants have pointed out the hesitance of the news outlet to call out the crypto founder as a lousy actor while also noting that the interview failed to ask the tough questions.
Like, did he have a backdoor to access FTX funds? Why did he lie incessantly to customers? Why did they claim to be processing Bahamian withdrawals at the behest of Bahamian regulators? Etc. Notably, these questions remain unanswered.
As highlighted above, Hoskinson was not the only one to call out the article as a puff piece. In addition, the crypto community has called to question the glorification of SBF by mainstream media before the FTX collapse and now perceived reluctance to portray him badly.
Elon Musk, in response, sarcastically asked, “Why the puff piece @nytimes?” Musk had previously expressed similar sentiments to Hoskinson, asserting that the former FTX chief had failed to come under regulatory scrutiny before now because of his political donations.
Why the puff piece @nytimes?
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 15, 2022
Meanwhile, former National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden also took a swipe at the article. According to Snowden, while SBF was getting a “puff piece,” his fellow NSA leak Daniel Hale is villainized and suffering in jail.
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong also pitched in this morning, calling the NYT article a “puff piece” while highlighting that Twitter is currently in the lead regarding breaking information as it happens. “Feels like a turning point for citizen journalism and loss of trust in MSM,” tweeted Armstrong.
Laskie.com founder Chris Bakke pointed out that despite recent happenings, SBF remains on the speakers’ list for a big NYT event. The Crypto Basic has confirmed this information. Notably, SBF remains on the speaker list for the NYT DealBook Summit on November 30.
Editor in Chief at the Crypto Briefing, Chris Williams, in a recent tweet, has pointed out that media outlets share some blame for current happenings as their coverage of people like SBF makes them into idols of the masses.
It bears mentioning that FTX and over 130 affiliated companies, including its US arm FTX.US have filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy. It came as a bank run on the exchange confirmed reports of shady financial practices at the crypto exchange. Notably, SBF continued to lie to investors and customers about the company’s finances while also making shameful attempts to cover his tracks.
The NYT author David Yaffe-Bellany has so far barely responded to critics. However, he retweeted an opinion by fellow author Jacob Silverman who said that the article was not a “puff piece” but an exposé on SBF’s laid-back attitude despite losing billions in customer and investor monies.
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Source: https://thecryptobasic.com/2022/11/16/cardano-founder-and-other-key-crypto-players-slam-nyt-sbf-puff-piece/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=cardano-founder-and-other-key-crypto-players-slam-nyt-sbf-puff-piece