Hoskinson Defends Self for Granting ‘Scam Enabler’ an Interview

Charles Hoskinson responded to critics and supporters alike who had mixed reactions when he graced Ben Armstrong’s show on June 19.

In a series of tweets, Hoskinson explained that he only took the “opportunity to talk about [Cardano’s] mission, vision, and values.” He also tried to clap back at detractors by saying that he did not need to approve of a host nor agree with his ideals for him to appear on a show.

Should I never appear on a show that criticized cardano unfairly? Should I not appear on mainstream media even through they have repeatedly propagandized entire nation states into war? Should we have a purity test for each communication channel moving forward?

— Charles Hoskinson (@IOHK_Charles) June 19, 2022

Hoskinson’s Twitter thread was published in response to a public statement by Twitter user and Cardano ambassador @Fabian_vBergen, who expressed his disapproval of Hoskinson’s move. According to Bergen, it was not appropriate for Hoskinson to appear on Armstrong’s show since the host is accused of endorsing fraud projects.

Bergen also shared some sources that allege Armstrong to be an enabler of scammers. Armstrong, more popularly known as Bitboy Crypto, has mentioned some projects that rug-pulled after getting Armstrong’s endorsement.

1/ Let’s review all the direct scams Bitboy has worked with in the past. Just in case you forgot here is the flyer with how much he charges.

I received this a while back by posing as a project interested in a promotion.
🧵 👇 pic.twitter.com/FkC9HUDGsc

— ZachXBT (@zachxbt) January 3, 2022

Hence, Bergen took his criticism of Hoskinson to the public. He also claimed that he wrote a message expressing his disagreement with the Armstrong interview 3 weeks before the show. What is more, Hoskinson ignored his message, according to a tweet.

“I’ve always felt [that] where there is a microphone and an audience, that’s an opportunity to win some hearts and minds,” Hoskinson explained. “Cardano needs an army to change the world and we aren’t going to build it only talking through the blameless and pure.”