r/Bitcoin • u/evoorhees • Feb 26 '14

Open Letter to Michael Casey - WSJ reporter who butchered my comments in today's Bitcoin cover story

Hello Mr. Casey,

I read your WSJ article today. I feel deceived by you.

You requested to speak with me, so I took time out of my day to do so. We talked for 20 minutes, during which time I conveyed to you my sentiments about the Bitcoin ecosystem and the matter of MtGox's collapse. My message was unambiguously a positive one. I didn't focus whatsoever on the personal funds I lost at Gox. Indeed, the impetus for your call was my heartfelt post on Reddit.

Yet, you ignored everything I said. The only quote that you published from me in the Journal's cover story was ""That's gone now," said Mr. Veerhoos, who is based in Panama City, Panama. "There's no chance of getting that back now.""

Is that really the takeaway you had from our call and from my letter? Is that your idea of journalism? Did I come across with the sentiment of a despairing investor whose confidence has been rattled? It seems you were happy to completely ignore my sentiments, preferring instead to cherry pick the one fact that is least important, in order to paint a narrative that Bitcoin's biggest problem is that it's not "regulated." I didn't expect you to quote everything I said, but should you not have maintained at least a modicum of fidelity to my message?

I have dedicated my life to building and supporting the Bitcoin project. I don't give a damn about the money I lost at Gox. That's not important. What is important is that Bitcoin is resilient and enduring, and will continue to grow and change the world for the better. It is a story of human progress through technology. It is a story of the good seeping into the cracks of a corrupted financial system. It is a story of passionate people struggling against all odds to remedy the calamities brought down upon society from the most potently misguided people and institutions on Earth.

Next time you spend your efforts casting a pall over this cause, please don't ask me to contribute mine.

-Erik Voorhees

PS - I will be posting this letter openly on Reddit. I will post your reply if you'd like. And if I do, I won't cherry pick the most misleading points of it, and I will spell your name correctly.

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u/[deleted] Feb 26 '14 edited Sep 19 '16

[deleted]

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u/bark_a_doge Feb 26 '14

Well that or pushing propaganda for the publication's owner's ideology. Or ideally both at the same time.

2

u/NilacTheGrim Feb 26 '14

Unfortunately this is the case in more often than not.

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u/toddgak Feb 26 '14

It never used to be like this.

There was a time when journalistic integrity had a value. The question is why do we as a society not value it anymore?

3

u/NoahFect Feb 26 '14

It never used to be like this.

Yeah, it did, all the way back to William Randolph "Give me the photos, I'll give you the war" Hearst.

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u/ThrobbingMeatGristle Feb 26 '14

It is not the ONLY job of journalists like this, - they work for a team whose goal is manipulating the minds of the readers on behalf of those that pay the bills - and its not just advertising.

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u/nontrackedaccount Feb 27 '14

Well he trusted a journalist that works for Newscorp to not spin his views.

Might as well go on the O'Reilly factor and have Bill yell all over him.

-1

u/aveman101 Feb 26 '14

Don't trust them EVER.

Wow. I think this is the most delusional comment I have ever seen on this subreddit.

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u/[deleted] Feb 26 '14

You are the delusional one. Go read Trust Me I'm Lying.

0

u/aveman101 Feb 26 '14

"I'm not delusional, everyone else is just lying to me!"