Washington Post mocked for mourning FTX founder now can't stop another pandemic: 'Dumbest take imaginable'
Sam Bankman-Fried's cryptocurrency company has millions of dollars unaccounted for
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Washington Post was ridiculed on Twitter over a piece lamenting the fall of cryptocurrency FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, and the collapse of his plans to stop a second pandemic.
"FTX collapse dooms founder’s effort to prevent another pandemic, @ddiamondreports," Washington Post Deputy National Editor Philip Rucker tweeted, alongside a link to the article.
At its peak FTX was the third-largest cryptocurrency exchange, but it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protections on Friday, and the company confirmed over the weekend that millions of dollars worth of assets are unaccounted for. The company's founder, Sam Bankman-Fried, faces allegations that he secretly transferred $10 billion from FTX to Alameda Research, his hedge fund that also filed for bankruptcy.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}FTX BANKRUPTCY WILL OFFER A LOOK BEHIND CRYPTO’S DARK CURTAIN
However, the Washington Post’s Dan Diamond, instead chose to focus on Bankman-Fried’s philanthropic efforts, including his "staggering" contributions to research projects, campaigns, and other initiatives aimed at preventing the next global pandemic.
The piece also touted "Protect Our Future" a political action committee backed by Bankman-Fried. The group spent nearly $30 million in the midterms on Democratic candidates who they believe will be "champions for pandemic prevention."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Twitter users mocked The Post’s Rucker over the article, accusing him of "gaslighting" FTX customers who lost their funds, and promoting a man compared to Bernie Madoff, the man responsible for the largest Ponzi scheme in U.S. history.
"Phil, how much did he give you guys?" The Spectator Contributing Editor Stephen L. Miller tweeted.
"Do you guys have a bet with the Times over who can give him the best tongue bath while random Twitter accounts do actual reporting to expose continually deeper chicanery?" lawyer and writer Allan Richarz added.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}FTX FOUNDER SAM BANKMAN-FRIED'S FAMILY BOASTS DEEP TIES TO DEMOCRAT POWER PLAYERS
Podcaster Noam Blum posted a picture of a Twitter DM exchange between Bankman-Fried and a reporter, with the FTX founder admitting that he bolstered his reputation by sweet-talking people into believing his commitment to altruism. Then, he put a picture of Rucker’s tweet puffing up Bankman-Fried right next to it.
"SBF describing the con alongside an example of a successful mark," Blum wrote.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"We should obviously waive the law & forgive him since he’s such a promising young progressive," Grabien Founder Tom Elliott sarcastically quipped.
Several other prominent Twitter users also weighed in.
Bankman-Fried has been hit with a class action lawsuit by investors alleging he and other high-profile celebrities — such as legendary NFL quarterback Tom Brady and NBA star Stephen Curry — violated Florida law and made consumers suffer more than $11 billion in damages.
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The suit describes the well-known celebrities as "all parties who either controlled, promoted, assisted in, and actively participated in FTX Trading and FTX US (collectively, the "FTX Entities"), offer and sale of unregistered securities in the form of yield-bearing accounts (YBAs) to residents of the United States."
FOX Business’ Greg Norman contributed to this report.