5 y
Bitfinex falls prey to “Streisand effect” as it attempts to silence critics
Cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex has tried silencing Bitfinex'ed, a vocal critic on Twitter, which has finally resulted in what is popularly known as the "Streisand effect". This phenomenon, named after American singer and actress Barbara Streisand, refers to an attempt to censor data available online, leading to heightened publicity of the attempt and eventually, just makes matters worse. Such an incident is not uncommon at a time when social media is booming and Bitfinex is the latest to fall into such a trap. The Hong Kong-based crypto exchange has been the target of many critics, but one in particular has really ticked the platform off. The relentless critique and claims of Twitter user Bitfinex'ed led to the exchange reaching out to legal firm Steptoe & Johnson to encounter the critic.According to reports, "A vocal crypto critic says bot army got him suspended by Twitter. Twitter Inc. has suspended an account that’s been one of the loudest critics of digital currency exchange Bitfinex and its related cryptocurrency Tether. The author, known only as @Bitfinexed, declines to identify himself, saying he’s worried about his safety.” The suspension of the critic's account comes at a time when the crypto exchange and Tether are facing a host of controversies. Once the link between these two organizations came to light, Tether immediately announced that Friedman LLP, a New York-based audit firm, was auditing its financial reserves. In an attempt to counter the mounting criticism it was facing, Tether released certain preliminary auditing files. Critics instantly attacked the company for providing such inconclusive documents. In addition, Tether had also terminated its relationship with its auditor, stating that an audit could not be conducted in a "reasonable time frame". The company has not yet disclosed when a proper audit would be carried out.When a fraudulent company tries to get you banned from Twitter by spamming you with hundreds of thousands of fake followers, temporarily succeeding, and then it makes national news resulting in... the Streisand Effect. pic.twitter.com/UzkhMXhlkh
— Bitfinex'ed (@Bitfinexed) September 18, 2018