Headlines without Context

There is a headline making the rounds today that might lead you to believe crypto bros are 'rugged individualists' with profits but typical Wall Street snakes with losses. Don't fall for it.

“Fake news” has been a problem for several years. It was a problem long before a certain orange boogeyman made this gif possible:

It’s still a problem today. And it will continue to be a problem for years to come. Why? Because headlines drive narratives. People who write headlines know this. But beyond that, headlines are what get clicks and people don’t generally read full articles. The headline is king in the realm of public discourse. Fortune has a headline that is making the rounds today on the social channels:

It’s been shared by numerous crypto skeptics and haters, often with colorful commentary. It’s actually now the most popular article on Fortune’s website. I first came across it this morning courtesy of Ben McKenzie. You may remember him for his portrayal of a young James Gordon in the FOX show Gotham.

Ben McKenzie @ben_mckenzie

The bros who asked for your hard-earned dollars to go into “investments” outside the law would now like a bailout to fix the problem they created. I have a suggestion…

fortune.comEthereum co-founder says every ‘average smallholder’ of Terra’s stablecoin should be made whole: ‘The obvious precedent is FDIC insurance’“The obvious precedent is FDIC insurance up to $250,000 per person,” Vitalik Buterin tweeted, adding that he “strongly supports” helping the “average UST smallholder.”

Ben is still acting, apparently. But instead of a comic book detective hero on TV though, he’s now playing a crypto analyst on Twitter. The framing of the “news” piece from the hater-brigade is that Vitalik Buterin, one of crypto’s most wealthy founders, is looking for some sort of socialized bailout after private profits have been wiped out from the Terra disaster last week.

Here’s the problem with that narrative; it’s completely untrue. What Vitalik actually said is this:

vitalik.eth @VitalikButerin

Strongly support this. Coordinated sympathy and relief for the average UST smallholder who got told something dumb about "20% interest rates on the US dollar" by an influencer, personal responsibility and SFYL for the wealthy.

PersianCapital 📖 @PersianCapital

The second way is to prioritize smaller wallets. People who had a couple thousand or more of UST deposited in Anchor. If Terra just focussed on the "poorest" 99.6% of wallets, then they could make this gigantic group 100% whole. Yes, you read that right! 4/

The entire premise of the article is based on that tweet. What is actually being proposed by the crypto community is the liquidation of the $1.5 billion in Terra’s treasury. The proceeds of which would be used to make those who lost everything whole starting with smallest holders and working up the ladder. It’s crypto funds from a failed project being used to help most of the people who lost their money. Not with tax dollars. Not with government programs. With crypto people stepping up for crypto people.

It’s literally the exact opposite of what Fortune’s headline, Ben McKenzie, and numerous others have insinuated online. Of course, understanding the story actually requires reading the article. Which McKenzie clearly didn’t do. Don’t be like Ben McKenzie.