4 ms·

This American Life retracts their Apple/China story

39 points by robbiet480 15y ago

ghurlman 15y ago
Site is unresponsive... This is the whole of the retraction text: "Regrettably, we have discovered that one of our most popular episodes was partially fabricated. This week, we devote the entire hour to detailing the errors in "Mr. Daisey Goes to the Apple Factory,[1]" Mike Daisey’s story about visiting Foxconn, an Apple supplier factory in China. Rob Schmitz[2], a reporter for Marketplace, raises doubts on much of Daisey's story." [1] http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/454/mr-daisey-and-the-apple-factory http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/454/m... [2] http://www.marketplace.org/people/rob-schmitz http://www.marketplace.org/people/rob-schmitz
- ramses0 15y ago
  http://www.marketplace.org/topics/life/ieconomy/acclaimed-apple-critic-made-details http://www.marketplace.org/topics/life/ieconomy/acclaimed-ap... ...decent text details.
- wonderzombie 15y ago
  See also http://www.thisamericanlife.org/blog/2012/03/retracting-mr-daisey-and-the-apple-factory http://www.thisamericanlife.org/blog/2012/03/retracting-mr-d.... This includes the press release, which is preceded by Ira something something a bit more extensive.
VMG 15y ago
I pressed Cathy to confirm other key details that Daisey reported. Did the guards have guns when you came here with Mike Daisey? With each question I got the same answer from Lee. “No,” or “This is not true.” Daisey claims he met underage workers at Foxconn. He says he talked to a man whose hand was twisted into a claw from making iPads. He describes visiting factory dorm rooms with beds stacked to the ceiling. But Cathy says none of this happened. I must say that while listening to the story some things seemed a little exaggerated, and the his whole style didn't seem very objective. But I didn't suspect that he made things up from whole cloth.
stupandaus 15y ago
As someone who has worked in manufacturing in China and the US, the safety standards across China are extremely variable. The closer you get to the coast, the more Western standards are applied. My understanding is that Foxconn and other similar caliber manufacturers in Shenzhen exceed standards of many American manufacturing facilities.

39 points by robbiet480 15y ago

Site is unresponsive... This is the whole of the retraction text: "Regrettably, we have discovered that one of our most popular episodes was partially fabricated. This week, we devote the entire hour to detailing the errors in "Mr. Daisey Goes to the Apple Factory,[1]" Mike Daisey’s story about visiting Foxconn, an Apple supplier factory in China. Rob Schmitz[2], a reporter for Marketplace, raises doubts on much of Daisey's story." [1] http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/454/mr-daisey-and-the-apple-factory http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/454/m... [2] http://www.marketplace.org/people/rob-schmitz http://www.marketplace.org/people/rob-schmitz

ramses0 15y ago
http://www.marketplace.org/topics/life/ieconomy/acclaimed-apple-critic-made-details http://www.marketplace.org/topics/life/ieconomy/acclaimed-ap... ...decent text details.
wonderzombie 15y ago
See also http://www.thisamericanlife.org/blog/2012/03/retracting-mr-daisey-and-the-apple-factory http://www.thisamericanlife.org/blog/2012/03/retracting-mr-d.... This includes the press release, which is preceded by Ira something something a bit more extensive.

VMG 15y ago

I pressed Cathy to confirm other key details that Daisey reported. Did the guards have guns when you came here with Mike Daisey? With each question I got the same answer from Lee. “No,” or “This is not true.” Daisey claims he met underage workers at Foxconn. He says he talked to a man whose hand was twisted into a claw from making iPads. He describes visiting factory dorm rooms with beds stacked to the ceiling. But Cathy says none of this happened. I must say that while listening to the story some things seemed a little exaggerated, and the his whole style didn't seem very objective. But I didn't suspect that he made things up from whole cloth.

stupandaus 15y ago

As someone who has worked in manufacturing in China and the US, the safety standards across China are extremely variable. The closer you get to the coast, the more Western standards are applied. My understanding is that Foxconn and other similar caliber manufacturers in Shenzhen exceed standards of many American manufacturing facilities.