NY Times fights back

Woodward

Woodward

Hardcore investigative journalist Brad “Scoop” Stone, longtime friend of this blog and (as it happens) co-author of the Times article that I savaged yesterday, writes in to point out a huge glaring mistake in my blog post, and demanding that I set the record straight. In my post, I wrote that the Times had done a puff piece on Zynga and totally ignored a week’s worth of scandal coverage that had engulfed the company after TechCrunch revealed that Zynga was presenting users with scammy ads and even found video of Zynga’s CEO crowing about running those ads and doing “any horrible thing in the book just to get revenues.”

Well, turns out I was wrong. The Times piece did, in fact, include a lengthy and thorough look at Zynga’s scammy ad business practices. I don’t know how I missed it. Brad Stone is demanding that I retract my previous claim that the Times said “not a fucking word” about the scandal and correct my “inaccuracy.” For the record, here is what the Times wrote:

Players can also earn virtual currency by signing up for subscription services or installing pop-up advertising software. But some social gaming companies have cut back on such offers after criticism that they were misleading and in some cases defrauding players.

I can’t believe I missed that. I really regret the error. You guys rock. Your attention to detail makes the world a better place for all of us.

Footnote: Matthew 7:3-5