A timely reality check from Joe Wilcox – read the full post
There has been quite the ethics flap over the last 72 hours or so about TechCrunch’s handling of leaked Twitter documents.
Bottom line: Michael Arrington was wrong to distribute any of the leaked material, which was stolen by a hacker. The posting of the documentation is unconscionable. There is no journalistic excuse, or justification for it. The disclosure:
- Likely is legally negligent
- Violates journalistic ethics
- Discloses Twitter trade secrets
- Probably interferes with a criminal investigation
Michael Arrington was a lawyer before becoming a blogger mogul. He should know the law. A lawyer and stolen documents go oddly together in a bad way.
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