This American Life on Friday retracted its searing exposé of conditions at Foxconn factories that manufacture Apple gear. The statement reverses damage to one of the most-respected brands in the world.
Acclaimed Public Radio International program This American Life has retracted an entire episode about working conditions inside Foxconn, the Chinese manufacturer that builds much of Apple’s most popular hardware, after learning that a major contributing source “partially fabricated” information about his visit to the factories.
In the episode, PRI aired a monologue from Mike Daisey, a self-proclaimed performer whose one-man show, The Agony and Ecstasy of Steve Jobs, detailed alarming labor practices which he claimed to witness during his time visiting Foxconn. Among the many facts Daisey fabricated, according to PRI, were the number of Foxconn factories he visited, the number of workers he spoke with, as well as a meeting with a number of workers who claimed to have been poisoned by chemicals used on iPhone assembly lines.
"Daisey lied to me and to This American Life producer Brian Reed during the fact checking we did on the story, before it was broadcast," Ira Glass, host of the show, said in a blog post Friday quoted by Wired. (I can't currently access the post. I expect it was overwhelmed by traffic).
I stand by my work. My show is a theatrical piece whose goal is to create a human connection between our gorgeous devices and the brutal circumstances from which they emerge. It uses a combination of fact, memoir, and dramatic license to tell its story, and I believe it does so with integrity.
Apple is going to come off smelling like a rose. Its brand has been restored. The only thing most people will remember about this story in six months is "Problems at the Apple factory? I remember that. That was faked."
That's a real shame, because, as Daisey notes, reports by the New York Times and human rights organizations corroborate that working conditions in China's factories are awful. The problem is not limited to Apple. Every electronics brand and consumer is complicit, you and me included.
Please post links and updates on this breaking story in the comment thread below. And let us know what you think. Will Apple's brand suffer any long-term damage? How about This American Life, also a well-respected brand -- will it be able to recover?
Apple blogger John Gruber writes at his blog Daring Fireball that Daisey's stories "set off my spidey sense:" "one guy claiming things that no one else was claiming or reporting, all uncovered during a single six-day trip to China by a man who doesn't speak Chinese and with no prior investigative reporting experience. Ends up my spidey sense was right: Daisey made it up."
And so we see history already being rewritten, because Daisey was not the only person reporting these things; as noted in my blog post above, human rights organizations reported the same things, as did the New York Times (IIRC) a short time after the Daisey report aired on TAL.
Time.com's TV blogger James Poniewozik: This American Life's Apple Retraction: The Danger of Truthiness. Poniewozik rips Daisey's defense: This is not David Sedaris doctoring a quirky anecdote about his family. For Daisey to shrug this off as simply a poor choice of venue is willfully naive at best."
Poniewozik goes on to say that even if you buy Daisey's justification that he was going for the larger truth, that larger truth -- the other investigations corroborating Daisey -- "risk being tarred by a false 'larger truth' created by Daisey's exposure."
Poniewozik's language is similar to my own in describing how this will play to the masses:
We've seen this happen before when journalistic outlets have cut corners in their reporting on legitimate stories. The scandal is what makes the biggest splash, and no matter how many well-researched 5,000-word exposes anyone else does, the takeaway among the general audience, half-following this and dozens of other stories at home could end up being: "What, that thing about the exploited iPad workers in China? Didn't they find out that was a hoax or something?"
A small win for Team Booker. Daisey just admitted that his too-perfect anecdote about the injured, claw-handed Foxconn worker stroking an iPad could not be verified. I knew it!
On the other end, the broadcaster, Ira Glass of NPR's "This American Life," just said on air that he screwed up by allowing a story in which a major piece (Daisey's translator) couldn't be reached to verify Daisey's accounts.
All this underscores a simple fact: A compelling lie in the hands of a compelling lier sometimes can defeat a fact-checking process. The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and lots of others have been tricked in the past, and will be tricked in the future. Sh*t happens.
No matter what is said about the genuineness of allegations; the level of coverage the Foxconn issue got on the internet will be higher than the coverage received for the news questioning the claims made. The only thing Apple might consider is suing the reporters suspected guilty in defamatory law suit and restore some lost respect. One thing is for sure that the power of social media and other internet-based platforms have been verified and every company now needs to realize that sooner or later all their unethical activities esp providing dismal HR working conditions will be exposed. The current news about publishing of the exit letters from Goldmansachs is an example.
As per the Human Right organizations, working conditions in China are awful and we have seen this news more than once. If that is the case then I have a fundamental question. Are we willing to give up buying these gadgets? Because the only thing that will make things better is if consumers protest against using products that have been made in hazardous working conditions.
Else, the demand will continue to surge and the products will be made in the same awful working conditions.
I'm amazed that the story was not investigated sufficiently before broadcast and am disappointed at how real issues are swept under the carpet so quickly due to irresponsible journalism. It's not about any brand, the malpractices do need to be investigated and regulated and rectified as best as they can. I hope there are associations taking note of it and raising the issue at the right platforms where someone does take responsibility for it.
@sohaib, do the majority of the consumers really care where are the parts coming from? All they care is they get the best quality in the minimum possible price. The issue of workplace conditions is one to be raised at larger platforms which have influence over the regulatory bodies and major industry players in order for them to comply.
@waqas, I agree that social media has that power. But this power would be best utilized if the users keep the topic alive on social forums, making the trend so active that companies are bound to take notice. For such a movement, a major impetus is required which I have not seen as far as this story is concerned.
Will consumers stop buying Apple products because of this? Highly doubtful. Look at how many buy pirated music and videos because of price. I'm not so sure our collective social conscious is strong enough to disrupt the power of Apple.
@nasimson, Exactly, we as consumers don't care if the products are made in hazardous conditions or not. We only care about the brands we love and how go get them cheaply. That is why I said, we have a role in this too.
And yes I am up for regulations or legislation that will make things better for the workers. But I have serious concerns if they could be made in the developing nations.
@AliceAMM: I agree with you that it is highly unlikely consumers will stop buying Apple or any other brand they love because of hazardous conditions at the manufacturing sites. But unless we have strong legislation and/or high consumer sentiment about it things will not change.
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