TheQuartering [6/6/2022]

According to BoundingIntoComics:

The Washington Post has issued a pair of corrections after staff reporter Taylor Lorenz first falsely claimed to have contacted YouTubers ThatUmbrellaGuy and LegalBytes for comment on the outcome of the Johnny Depp v. Amber Heard defamation trial and subsequently edited her piece to remove the claim without providing any editorial notice.

Initially published on June 2nd, “Who won the Depp-Heard trial? Content creators that went all-in.” saw Lorenz offer her thoughts on how “the trial offered a potential glimpse into the future of media, where content creators serve as the personalities breaking news to an increasing number of viewers — and, in turn, define the online narrative around major events. Those creators can also bring in major personal profit in the process.”

Proceeding to single out the two aforementioned content creators, Lorenz reported that attorney Alyte “LegalBytes” Mazeika “earned $5,000 in one week by pivoting the content on her YouTube channel to nonstop trial coverage and analysis, according to Business Insider,” while “ThatUmbrellaGuy, an anonymous YouTuber whose entire channel is dedicated to pro-Depp content, earned up to $80,000 last month, according to an estimate by social analytics firm Social Blade.”

Though her piece lacked any quotes or insight on their success from the creators themselves, the infamous Washington Post staff writer assured readers that “Mazeika and ThatUmbrellaGuy did not respond to requests for comment.”