This story is 9 months old, it was first on local news (with the same source from the same police department): http://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2012/03/14/tide-de

This story is 9 months old, it was first on local news (with the same source from the same police department): http://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2012/03/14/tide-detergent-becomes-the-latest-target-for-thieves-across-the-country/ http://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2012/03/14/tide-detergent-beco... and again: http://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2012/03/23/prince-georges-county-police-bust-laundry-detergent-theft-ring/ http://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2012/03/23/prince-georges-coun... Then extended as a feature in The Daily later that month: http://www.thedaily.com/page/2012/03/12/031212-news-tide-theft-1-4/ http://www.thedaily.com/page/2012/03/12/031212-news-tide-the... Which lead it to becoming a subject on Snopes: http://www.snopes.com/media/notnews/tide.asp http://www.snopes.com/media/notnews/tide.asp It seems that the writer at NYMag hit his word count by extending the background on the brand, since he had a ready source available with the marketing/PR department at Procter. I think this could have been more interesting if it went into the direction of exploring the economics at work.