Newsweek may be heading to court soon! Earlier this year, the media outlet alleged that California resident, Dorian Nakamoto, is the creator of the Bitcoin. The 65-year-old man revealed that the article revealed false information about him and he is not the creator of the cyptocurrency. Now, Nakamoto has launched a crowdfunding campaign called “Dorian Nakamoto’s Legal Defense Fund,” to raise funds towards suing Newsweek, stating that the article hurt his family.
The campaign’s description reads,”Newsweek’s cover article falsely naming Dorian Nakamoto ‘The Face Behind Bitcoin’ was published in March 2014. Criticism of the article was immediate and universal. Thereafter, Newsweek appended a statement issued by Dorian to the article’s online version, but has not retracted the article, apologized, or compensated Dorian or his family.
“The article’s conclusion is false. Dorian Nakamoto is not the inventor of Bitcoin. He has never worked on Bitcoin. Newsweek and Leah McGrath Goodman, the article’s author, should have—and may have—known this conclusion was false, or at least highly unlikely. Newsweek’s article terrorized both Dorian and his family, all of them private citizens.
“In addition to the article’s false conclusion, it contains misstatements of fact and invented and altered quotes from Dorian and his family members. This is not the first time these allegations have been made against the article’s author. In addition, in an interview after the article was published, the author appears to have wholly invented an additional conversation with Dorian supporting her version of events.
“Why would Newsweek publish an article they knew or should have known to be false? It’s not the same Newsweek you remember. After years of ownership by The Washington Post Company, ‘tiny digital publisher’ IBT Media purchased the near-defunct Newsweek “brand,” but possibly not its prior legal and editorial infrastructure. The article was the cover story of a relaunched Newsweek as a highly-priced physical magazine in March. According to one journalist, the editor ‘was interested in creating a splashy magazine article for the print reincarnation of a storied mass-market newsweekly.'”
It was also reported that Dorian’s family was confused by Newsweek’s article. He and his brothers were misquoted. In some cases, words were attributed to them that were never said. In the chaos, his mother believed that the authorities were planning on removing her from her home to put her in a care facility. His estranged wife and children were alienated by the story, which portrayed a person and situation different from their understanding of their husband and father.
According to the Verge, due to his personal information being exposed through Newsweek contributor Leah McGrath Goodman’s piece, Nakamoto has been given unwanted attention and was reportedly involved in a car chase when he attempted to evade reporters. Although there is no disclosed goal, the fund is taking contributions through credit or debit card, as well as Bitcoin. The cyptocurrency community has even donated donating approximately $23,000 worth of Bitcoin to Dorian for his personal use. Any funds given will go towards Nakamoto’s legal team.
Newsweek has not retracted its initial article about Nakamoto yet.
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