1/14
Several items within the Wired article contained factual inaccuracies. I wanted to address these items earlier. However, it took time to gather evidence, primarily because some events transpired in 2014.
It's perplexing that Wired's fact-checkers allowed the publication of erroneous information.
It's perplexing that Wired's fact-checkers allowed the publication of erroneous information.
10:46 AM - Jun 08, 2023
2/14
The journalist cited Joshua J. Bouw, AKA "Gritt." Regrettably, this individual provided the journalist with false information. In the article, he falsely claimed that a majority of those who purchased the Blackcoin card I created did not receive the cards. View the attached screenshots.
10:47 AM - Jun 08, 2023
3/14
Surprisingly, the journalist never asked me to respond to this allegation. I would've provided Wired with screenshots of Joshua, and I was talking about the cards three years later in a Twitter DM, and Joshua stating A LOT of the hardcore Blackcoin guys still had their cards.
10:48 AM - Jun 08, 2023
4/14
In Nov 2022, Joshua, AKA "Gritt," tweeted, "To my knowledge he hadn't scammed anyone (in regards to the Blackcoin cards)." Our DM exchange and his tweets contradict his statements in the Wired piece. I am shocked a journalist would cite a source who isn't credible and make contradictory statements.
10:49 AM - Jun 08, 2023
5/14
It's true there were delays in manufacturing and delivering the cards because of my supplier in China. But once the cards were finally delivered, I began immediately shipping the cards. I still have the old shipping receipts in a box somewhere in the attic.
10:57 AM - Jun 08, 2023
6/14
In regards to my "pocketing" donations, that is also false. I had agreed to do a Wall Street event, and we raised under $4000. When certain members of the community discovered my real name and that I was Black, they started attacking me and doxxed me several times. Joshua was also part of the group.
10:58 AM - Jun 08, 2023
7/14
I called off the event and left the community. I tried to return the funds, but this was 2014, and crypto isn't like it is now. Many of the people who donated, donated from their crypto exchange wallets, and returning the funds was difficult. So I decided to donate the money to various charities.
10:59 AM - Jun 08, 2023
8/14
Joshua eventually apologized to me in a (now-deleted tweet) for being part of the group that attacked me. Not only did this group attack me, but several people in the group used racial slurs. Years later, Joshua would call me "a pretty great guy." Once again, he contradicted his statements.
11:09 AM - Jun 08, 2023
9/14
I have been in several documentaries and dozens of publications. No one has ever come forward with receipts showing I scammed them. Several journalists investigated this incident, and each never found any wrongdoing. Even the Wired journalist just quoted an unreliable source without any evidence.
11:11 AM - Jun 08, 2023
10/14
The second issue is regarding the false claim that thousands of users' personal information was exposed. Not only is it factually incorrect, but I have also said publicly this never happened. It's true an unused API was unsecured for several hours, but thousands of users' emails were not exposed.
11:13 AM - Jun 08, 2023
11/14
A troll claimed he accessed over 60k users' email addresses but never provided proof. At that time, we didn't have 60k users, so we immediately knew he was lying. We checked our server logs, and there was no evidence of his claim. He did access a handful of emails by entering usernames into our API.
11:15 AM - Jun 08, 2023
12/14
During my interview with the journalist and the fact-checker, I made it clear we didn't have a data breach, so once again, I am perplexed as to why they would publish something without having proof. When they asked me to provide them with our number of users, I sent them proof.
11:16 AM - Jun 08, 2023
13/14
I have no idea if Wired will correct the record. Still, I felt it was necessary to make this public because Wired shouldn't have allowed the piece to be published until specific allegations were corroborated by multiple sources, especially since it took them six months to publish this piece.
11:16 AM - Jun 08, 2023
14/14
I am not sure if Joshua read this thread or if he just feels guilty about what he told the journalist, but I am adding his recent DM to me here.
10:02 AM - Jun 09, 2023
In response to Christopher Bouzy.
Chris, the article was definitely a mixed bag of good and bad. But I guess the saying all press is good press could apply if it raises the profile. Interestingly enough the writer is still spouting. Have you thought about engaging him in a collaborative thread? Love to see that dialog.
05:28 PM - Jun 08, 2023
In response to Christopher Bouzy.
I saw the spouts about the article late last night & searched it out. Even though I was immediately put off by the photo I continued on to the article, I read about 1/3 before I'd had enough. Really don't know how to describe it other than it's a piece of krap
04:32 PM - Jun 08, 2023
In response to Christopher Bouzy.
So sad that what was supposed to be an awesome spotlight on the successful launch of #Spoutible had to be marred by such unbelievably amateurish inaccuracies. Sorry you had to experience that. Although it shouldn't be your responsibility imo, appreciate the clarification on it all. 👍🏾🙏🏾🫶🏾
04:26 PM - Jun 08, 2023
In response to Christopher Bouzy.
i have been very quiet lately, and decided to hold of on my response to the wired article until I got to see @cbouzy ‘s response. this article @brendankoerner is an insult to our whole community and a hit piece on our leader. The way in which it is written smacks of cis-het white male priveledge.
02:42 PM - Jun 08, 2023
In response to Sweet Andrej.
This is the only safe space in the internet where we are protected from Cis-Het white male privilege, and this person infiltrated our community. If you are a cis-het white male, you should know your privileged standing and you should not judge your subject based on your own “cis het experience”
02:47 PM - Jun 08, 2023
In response to Christopher Bouzy.
I appreciate your notes @cbouzy . I agree, there wasn't much investigating on the reporters part. What's it's come to is that Wired prints what it wants and puts the onus on the subject to correct misinformation. That's not journalism, it's tabloid tactics.
01:07 PM - Jun 08, 2023
In response to Christopher Bouzy.
Unfortunately, I expect this low standard from journalists (though I’m sometimes pleasantly surprised). I once left a high profile professional position…
12:16 PM - Jun 08, 2023
In response to Dan Ehrenkrantz.
A journalist interviewed someone who wasn’t employed by the organization who said he was surprised by the announcement that I was leaving (I was to leave 10 months after the announcement, giving the org plenty of time to hire a successor).
12:20 PM - Jun 08, 2023
In response to Christopher Bouzy.
I'm so sorry that happened. Not to be crude, but the whole article is a clusterfuck, not even worthy of a freshman term paper.
My heart sunk when I saw what I thought was a purposely unflattering photo and an odd headline. The rest of the article confirmed my dread.
My heart sunk when I saw what I thought was a purposely unflattering photo and an odd headline. The rest of the article confirmed my dread.
11:42 AM - Jun 08, 2023
In response to Christopher Bouzy.
I really wish you had worked with a Black journalist or publication. Then you would have had a more timely response, and been given the basic courtesy of making factually correct statements. The entire article reeked with resentment and disbelief of your intellect and success.
11:38 AM - Jun 08, 2023
In response to Cnealaz.
THIS. THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT IT IS.
"Who does this Black man think he is? He's starting a Social Media platform with the claim that it's SECURE and is BETTER at controlling Hate Speech & disinformation than giants like Facebook (Metal) & Twitter? Kinda uppity!"
Meanwhile... Today in the news...
"Who does this Black man think he is? He's starting a Social Media platform with the claim that it's SECURE and is BETTER at controlling Hate Speech & disinformation than giants like Facebook (Metal) & Twitter? Kinda uppity!"
Meanwhile... Today in the news...
12:16 PM - Jun 08, 2023
In response to Christopher Bouzy.
We will not be dissuaded nor lose our focus on building our community thanks to you. Onward,
11:08 AM - Jun 08, 2023
In response to Christopher Bouzy.
While I was reading this article, I took it in but had a healthy skepticism about some of the content because character is really hard to fake & some of the allegations just seemed incongruent with your general character presentation. Idk if you care, but reasonable people were unconvinced, I feel.
11:04 AM - Jun 08, 2023
In response to Christopher Bouzy.
I wasn’t surprised one bit by Wired’s journalistic low standard. It’s Wired. 🤷♀️
If they print a retraction, it will be a tiny blurb. Can you sue?
If they print a retraction, it will be a tiny blurb. Can you sue?
10:59 AM - Jun 08, 2023
In response to Christopher Bouzy.
You will be contacting the publication, yes?
10:55 AM - Jun 08, 2023
In response to Christopher Bouzy.
It really doesn't seem like he put much effort into writing that article AT ALL. It contained so many inaccuracies, easily recognized as such by anyone that had spent any decent amount of time on Spoutible at all. He was lazy in his research; that much is obvious.
10:51 AM - Jun 08, 2023
In response to Mynxie.
He didn't even talk much about Spoutible and surely not outlr community. He spent more time blasting lies about Christopher and talking about one moment of Twitter glory for him 12 years ago. It was so pathetic.
03:47 PM - Jun 08, 2023
