The New Yorker Attack on Skycoin: A Case Study in Media Bias

Today on X (formerly Twitter), Skycoin founder Brandon Smetana made his official appearance student A public apology and retraction from Condé Nast and its major media outlet, The New Yorker. The request follows the publication of an article titled “Pumpers, Dumpers, and Shills: The Skycoin Saga” in August 2021, which Smetana claims is full of false claims and slander.

“Today, I demand a formal and public apology and retraction from Condé Nast and its major media outlet, The New Yorker, for their defamatory article, Pumpers, Dumpers, and Shills: The Skycoin Saga. These allegations have threatened my reputation and that of my company, while putting the safety of my family at risk!”

It’s not just about me and my personal vendetta, it’s also about holding the media accountable! No one should have the ability to make up stories and put profits over integrity. It has been years since the article was published, and many of its claims have been proven false. However, the article remains. After all this time, The New Yorker has failed to apologize to me for publishing its offensive words.

False claims in “The Skycoin Saga”

The article written by Morgan Beck highlights the need for accountability in the media. First, Beck recounts the accusations that Smetana was involved in the Skycoin dump. Immediately after Binance listed the token, its price dropped. Sell-offs spread. With the community demanding answers, Smetana was hijacked by the Chinese marketing team for the project.

The hijacking occurred because EWA’s Harrison Jeffritz and Adam Young were trying to take over Skycoin as a company by pressuring Brandon to sell it to them or risk it being destroyed by their actions. Brandon Smetana was released shortly after. Beck falsely stated that these kidnappers were released without serving prison time.

Beck ignored public records and criminal files from China certain Each perpetrator was arrested, confessed, and sentenced to prison, while the “coordinators” remained unpunished.

Furthermore, Beck’s article includes fabricated quotes from key witnesses such as Michael Terpin. When accessed by The New Yorker Fact checker Anna Potts, Terpin noticed such inconsistencies. Regardless, the published article retained these false quotes.

As detailed by Bitcoinest, The New Yorker They sent Smetana 198 questions as part of the fact-checking process. “I did my best to answer them as best I could,” he said. “I gave her the documents, and she agreed and said: This statement is not true. And yet she published it. She put in the article the same statement that she admitted to me that she knew was false.”

Beck’s defamatory article discredits – and Skycoin as a by-product – and dilutes the founder’s positive influences on the cryptocurrency space. For example, Smetana went to the Shanghai Supreme Court, the country’s highest court, and won the first case in China to declare legal ownership of Bitcoin — a landmark case he carried out while under court and police protection.

This legal victory was important not only for Smetana, but also for cryptocurrencies as a whole. The recognition of Bitcoin as a legal asset has broken through China’s strict regulatory policies, bringing legitimacy to the asset in the eyes of the strict government. It leaves one to wonder why Beck and The New Yorker He will ignore such important information.

Personal impact on Smetana

Smetana’s personal life has suffered greatly from Beck’s false reporting. To this day, the Smetana family remains the target of various campaigns of harassment, including death threats and persecution by the authorities. Daily Stormerneo-Nazi media.

Daily Stormer Continue where The New Yorker He paused, accusing Smetana of hiring “assassins” to take down Bradford Stevens, a former member of the Skycoin marketing team.

Beck published her article in 2021. Now we are in 2024, and it still resonates with Smetana and his family. Not to mention the damage to Skycoin’s credibility, which forced the company to overcome obstacles to attract new customers.

Systemic failure at Condé Nast

These issues point to a broader ethical problem at Condé Nast. In addition to the successful article about Smetana, the mass media company was accused of this Discrimination in the workplaceEditorial manipulation and union disputes.

In fact, there is evidence that Beck and its affiliates were bribed to write such a successful article. Shortly after Skycoin paid Peck for a promotional article, the journalist contacted Smietana, asking for additional funds during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Smetana refused.

It is believed that Beck sought money from those who had grievances against Smetana. In 2023, Smetana learns of naysayers paying Beck to discredit him. Bribery may explain Beck’s ignorance of the facts, which Potts and Terpin highlighted long before they were published. It is worth noting that Potts later resigned from her position as fact-checker. Smetana’s case is not isolated. It highlights the need for media accountability and journalistic integrity, and shows the real consequences of defamation and unverified information.

When media outlets known for their integrity publish stories that are misinterpreted, the effects can be devastating for those involved, extending to the industries and companies in which they work. Overall, Smetana’s demand for an apology is about more than his personal problems. Influential figures in the cryptocurrency industry are often criticized by traditional media, which distort cryptocurrencies and present them in a negative light.

This case is another reminder of the power and influence these outlets hold and the damage they easily cause.