Mike Daisey Retracts Apple Story

“This American Life” retraction to their January 6 episode featuring excerpts from Mike Daisy’s critically acclaimed show ‘The Agony and Ecstasy of Steve Jobs” brings out alleged fabrication of working conditions at the Chinese factories that make Apple products.  Host Ira Glass stated that the monologue, based on Daisey’s trip to visit the Foxconn factory in China, contained “significant fabrications” and Daisey lied to the show’s staff during their fact-checking process.

Although ‘This American Life’ was forced to retract an episode that it broadcast in January about Foxconn’s factories in China, Mike Daisy says, “I want you to understand that what’s being called into question is the personal experiences; the facts of what the situation in China is in manufacturing are undisputed, and they’re reinforced by the New York Times, CNN, NPR; all of whom have gone and done the hard journalism that’s necessary.  This retraction brings up two important issues: journalistic integrity and creative license.

Daisy maintains he wanted to call attention to the Shenzhen’s suicide problem and help the Chinese workers.  According to one anonymous friend Daisey’s “messianic zeal” took over.  “Mike has made himself an easy target because he can’t keep his mouth shut. He got really excited about the press. He didn’t think about what the consequences would be of writing an op-ed piece in The New York Times. He didn’t think about what it would mean to be quoted constantly about Apple. He just kept going”.  Daisy quickly became one of Apples most outspoken critics, citing labor violations he saw with his own eyes.

On a transcript audio posted by Mike Daisey on his blog of the prologue he delivered to his show on Saturday 17 March he quotes, “…we use these tools that the Greeks invented so long ago, to try to communicate … the whole attempt is to try to shine a light through something and get at the truth. The truth is vitally important.  I believe that very deeply, and I have come here today to set this up, because I think context is utterly important. Some of you are, like, “I have no idea what any of this is about,” but thankfully, because we live in such a wired and connected world, I would ask that you not look up the controversy on the internet while the show is actually going on. It’s a small request: there’ll be time enough after it’s over”.

New York Times theatre critic Charles Isherwood wrote in yesterday’s paper, “But theater that aims to shape public opinion by exposing the world’s inequities has no less an obligation than journalism to construct its larger truths only from an accumulation of smaller ones.” Both Daisey and Russell cut corners and convinced themselves that it was justified because the dramatic arc of the story is true.

Did Daisey have an impact on Apple’s global brand? Does Apple have a case for a slander suit?