Ozy Media Accused of Impersonating Google Exec, Inflating Web, Video Traffic, Says NY Times: ‘A Potemkin Village’
thewrap.comNew York Times.The site was founded in 2013 by Carlos Watson, its CEO, and Samir Rao, now COO. According to the article by media columnist Ben Smith, who said he previously met Watson when he was the editor of Buzzfeed, Rao impersonated a Google executive on a fund-raising call with Goldman Sachs, supposedly vouching for the success of Ozy’s YouTube channel.
The vouchsafe was critical because Goldman was considering a $40 million investment in Ozy.Watson admitted to the incident, and wrote the Times that Rao had experienced a mental health crisis on the call.“Samir is a valued colleague and a close friend,” Watson said. “I’m proud that we stood by him while he struggled, and we’re all glad to see him now thriving again.”Goldman did not make.
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