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Illustration by Katie Kosma
The Kicker

The Unraveling of Ozy Media

The trial of Carlos Watson and the excesses of the digital media age.

December 9, 2024

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In the fall of 2021, Ozy Media—a small but seemingly high-achieving digital startup—burst into the public eye, when the New York Times reported that one of the company’s cofounders had impersonated an executive from YouTube during a conference call with potential investors. Soon, Ozy was in shambles, as was Carlos Watson, the face of the company, who, two years later, was indicted on federal charges, including fraud. Had Watson really broken the law, or was he just doing much of the same ethically murky business that pervaded digital news in the 2010s, when Silicon Valley shareholders set impossibly high demands? Hosts Josh Hersh and Susie Banikarim delve into the saga in this special three-part series of The Kicker: “The Unraveling of Ozy Media”—and explore what Watson’s case says about digital journalism now. We’ll update this page throughout the week with new episodes and bonus features.

Episode 1: Truth and Mythmaking

AP Photo / Illustration by Katie Kosma

Carlos Watson’s media startup arrives on the scene—and insiders reveal a dark reality under its glossy veneer.

Episode 2: Built on a Bluff

AP Photo / Illustration by Katie Kosma

How inflating traffic data went mainstream in digital media.

Hosted and coproduced by Josh Hersh and Susie Banikarim
Produced and edited by Amanda Darrach 
Fact-checking by Will Tavlin
Audio mix by William Flynn

Listen and subscribe at AppleSpotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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Susie Banikarim and Josh Hersh co-created this project. Susie Banikarim is an Emmy-winning journalist and recovering media executive. She is the director of the 2020 documentary Enemies of the People: Trump and the Political Press and cohosts the podcast In Retrospect. Josh Hersh is an editor at CJR. He was previously a correspondent and senior producer at Vice News.