Valleywag Receives Cease and Desist – Continues Acting Like Total Dicks

Posted by Editor on Jan 14, 2010 in Apple, Tablets

As you might have heard, Gawker’s Valleywag has offered a $100,000 bounty for anyone who can produce the Apple tablet or verifiable images of it. Obviously this particular blog is all about rumors and speculation but personally I think this goes way over the line and here’s why:

It’s one thing to have anonymous sources who volunteer information or spend time combing through old websites and patent filings looking for clues. But when you offer money and in this case a substantial amount, you’re crossing ethical and legal boundaries. Not unsurprisingly, Apple has responded through legal council with a letter asking for the immediate removal of the contest and the prize.

And Valleywag, acting cute in a I think I’m Michael Moore sort of way, have refused to take the contest down. Instead, editor Gabriel Snyder mocks Apple’s legal council by offering him prizes for tacitly confirming the rumor. This is all just link bait and really silly but there’s another dark side possibility waiting…

Suppose someone who has no connection whatsoever to anyone at Apple breaks into Apple’s HQ looking to snap photos or steal the device in order to claim that highly tempting $100,000 prize. Suppose they hurt someone or are shot by the cops in the process. Will it have really been worth it then?

Apple’s gleaming new product if/when it’s finally released will be tarnished by the bad press. Valleywag will be destroyed by the lawsuits. And all of us who enjoy reading these rumors in the first place will feel like complete dicks for taking the joke way too far. So do the right thing Gabe: Stop acting like a smartass and start acting smart.

Announcing Valleywag’s Apple Tablet Scavenger Hunt: Win Up to $100,000! [Valleywag] (gawker.com)
How much would it take for you to risk your job at Apple? (trueslant.com)
Valleywag’s $100,000 Bounty For Apple Tablet Leaks May Face Legal Repercussions (techcrunch.com)

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Tags: Apple, Articles, Gawker Media, Macintosh, Michael Moore, Money, Patent, Valleywag

2 Comments

muskratboy | January 14, 2010 at 2:21 pm

jeez man… grow some balls already. get off apple’s cock for 2 minutes and gain a tiny bit of free will, ok?

they should put up a big “fuck you apple” page and double the prize money. hilarious.

but you have the very realistic and not-at-all far fetched scenario of someone getting shot over it. good call. paranoia AND self-righteousness. neat!

grow a pair, you baby.
James Johnson | January 14, 2010 at 9:42 pm

Why is this in any way poisoning anything? Journalists from old media constantly poke and prod, sending out their “anonymous” source info (Which I guarantee you doesn’t exist a good amount of the time). At least Gawker managed to get a real letter, from the actual company and didn’t hide behind any type of journalistic protections.

And you actually think Apple just has the Tablets sitting in some unsecured room behind a glass window so anyone can walk in and grab one? At least put a bit of thought into that reasoning.