As we told you earlier, Elon Musk called out Business Insider for publishing a bogus story about FTX head Sam Bankman-Fried “reportedly [owning] a $100 million stake in Elon Musk’s Twitter.” Insider global editor-in-chief Nich Carlson defended his publication’s journalistic malpractice, claiming that the word “reportedly” is effectively a pass for spreading disinformation. And besides: Business Insider was only reporting on what Semafor had reported earlier.
Our readers (including you!) are smart enough to know what "reportedly" means.
That story reflects what Semafor reported. (We've included your denial in the story.)
Why would we give up when we are having so much fun reporting stories like these?https://t.co/OQDiRRG6id
— Nich Carlson (@nichcarlson) November 23, 2022
Just as an FYI to Nich Carlson, pointing out that Semafor reported it first does not make it OK. It actually makes it worse. See, here’s the thing about Semafor:
News organization in which SBF is a major shareholder claims that SBF owns $100 million of Twitter.
Owner of Twitter says this isn’t true.
Headline: “SBF is reportedly a shareholder in Twitter.”
Zero attempt to actually determine what is accurate.
— Austen Allred (@Austen) November 23, 2022
Sam Bankman-Fried owns a massive stake in Semafor. How ’bout that?
Needless to say, Elon Musk has some thoughts about that, too:
Semafor is owned by SBF. This is a massive conflict of interest in your reporting. Journalistic integrity is 🗑️. pic.twitter.com/1AB6KReJUj
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 23, 2022
What’s going on here @semaforben?
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 23, 2022
Inquiring minds wanna know.
Like you and many others, we took an investment from him. We have covered him aggressively, and disclose it every time we write about him, including here https://t.co/7yS5166PtP.
— Ben Smith (@semaforben) November 23, 2022
For the record, here’s what is supposed to pass for a disclosure in the Semafor article:
That doesn’t disclose much, does it? Certainly doesn’t disclose what the public has a right to know, especially in light of Semafor’s reporting on Musk having financial ties to Sam Bankman-Fried. Maybe Elon Musk can get Ben to clear it all up for us:
What percentage of you does he own?
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 23, 2022
Oooooooooooooh snap.
https://t.co/Kjys2vhoid pic.twitter.com/mv1DPW4lFO
— Caleb Howe (@CalebHowe) November 23, 2022
Here is the stuff I am grabbing the popcorn for.
— David Back to the Well (@Stillsmack) November 23, 2022
Same, man. Same.
But seriously, Ben:
As I said, neither I nor Twitter have taken any investment from SBF/FTX. Your article is a lie.
Now, I’m asking again, how much of you does SBF own?
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 23, 2022
Just answer the question.
That’s fair af. If you’re going to aggressively disclose stuff, then aggressively disclose everything.
— Curtis Crimmins (@CurtisCrimmins) November 23, 2022
Show us the money, Ben.
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