Bitcoin Community Slams New York Times’ Unbalanced Coverage of Mining Practices
The New York Times has come under fire yet again for its reporting on bitcoin mining. In an editorial titled “The Real-World Costs of the Digital Race for Bitcoin,” NYT reporter Gabriel Dance claims that bitcoin mining is harmful to the environment. However, many bitcoin proponents have disputed the article’s premise, arguing that it is one-sided and lacks current data. The article suggests that 85% of U.S.-based miners use fossil fuels for energy and that bitcoin mining is environmentally unfriendly, but some critics argue that the article is propaganda and does not accurately reflect the benefits of bitcoin.
CEO and co-founder of the Satoshi Act Fund, Dennis Porter, criticized the Times article for not fact-checking the name of the town where bitcoin mining is taking place. Porter emphasized that the NYT’s methodology and data are questionable, and that “sometimes clicks are more important than the truth.” Similarly, Alex Gladstein, chief strategy officer of the Human Rights Foundation, criticized the article for failing to mention the benefits of bitcoin and intentionally ignoring the value it provides worldwide.
Climate activist Daniel Batten, who is known for his research on the environmental impact of bitcoin mining, also discredited the research done by the newspaper and the author. Batten argues that the emission levels quoted in the NYT article are overstated by 81.7% and that the article is full of “unsupported assertions.” He further explains that the article did not cite researchers who spent thousands of hours understanding the technology, and that the data is not current. Batten concludes that the Times article has no objective reference to previous bitcoin mining reports or how “bitcoin mining makes renewable operators economically viable.”
Overall, the article has sparked a debate within the bitcoin community about the environmental impact of bitcoin mining and the accuracy of media reporting on the topic.
Clever Robot News Desk 11st April 2023
