In a report about a memecoin dinner related to Trump, the New York Times accidentally focused on a crypto figure named Sky, who called Binance founder Zhao Changpeng (CZ) "cousin" on social media, raising questions about his relationship with Binance. In response, CZ responded publicly with dissatisfaction, saying that this was about to become a "FUD operation" without factual basis, and exposing how such public opinion was deliberately hyped.
Wanna see FUD in the making?
Just received this inquiry from NY Times:
“We’re working on a story about the Trump memecoin dinner in Washington that goes into significant detail about one of the attendees, Tianying He, who goes by Sky on X. On his X account, he includes a…
— CZ BNB (@cz_binance) June 6, 2025
“We’re working on a story”: New York Times’ question sparks controversy
“Are you related to Sky? Is his project related to Binance?” A reporter from the New York Times (NYT) wrote to CZ, claiming that he was writing an in-depth report on the “Trump memecoin dinner”, which would describe in detail the background of the attendee Tianying He (@0xSkyisnobody).
The letter pointed out that Sky had tagged CZ on his social media account and called CZ "cousin" in a reply to a post related to the Trump Dollar Dinner, so he was asked whether he had a family relationship with CZ or co-founder He Yi, and whether the LuckyFuture project he founded had any business dealings with Binance.
Sky tagged CZ in a post and attracted a reply from him
However, this questioning method based on "relationship hints" attracted strong dissatisfaction from CZ. He believed that this was simply a FUD strategy that used assumptions to lead the trend, directly pointing out that the media fabricated the connection for hype, and even suspected that it was "paid to smear".
CZ restores the relationship between the two: they don’t know each other at all
Faced with external associations, CZ quickly publicly explained the actual timeline of his interaction with Sky, and quickly burst the bubble of public opinion. He said that he only noticed this person after Sky posted a photo with the BNB Chain hashtag: "I followed him after seeing that photo."
Then, he received a private message from Sky a week after he posted about "perp DEX" and began to know his project LuckyFuture. The two never talked about Trump or American political affairs, let alone any family ties or business cooperation.
In short, in this storm, CZ and Sky's relationship was limited to shallow interactions on social media, and they even established contact after the Trump dinner.
(Binance founder CZ admits to applying for Trump's pardon: Since the news has been written, I have no choice but to apply)
Cousin = relative? Chinese context and Western understanding make international jokes
The keyword "cousin" that escalated the incident actually contains cultural misunderstandings. Sky once jokingly called CZ a cousin in a post, causing Europeans and Americans to speculate whether the two are really related.
CZ specifically named it, hoping that the English community would understand that "cousin" or "cousin" in the Chinese context is often used as a familiar, respectful or even funny name, which is quite common in the Chinese community and does not necessarily have a real blood relationship. He wrote helplessly: "Can someone explain the "cousin" to me in the comment section?"
This ridiculous cultural difference was almost used as a news flash point and forced into the sensitive American political topic, which made CZ shake his head.
When the media uses hints to weave the plot: If there is no evidence, then ask questions
In addition to clarifying his relationship with Sky, CZ further pointed out the routine of this media operation: "When you have no evidence, you can use questions to hint at the potential existence of the story."
The wording of the New York Times interview letter is obviously designed to use questions to guide readers to have negative associations, thereby creating false relationships and conspiracy theories.
For CZ, this operation from the mainstream media was not for the purpose of verifying facts, but to intentionally create psychological pressure and public opinion disturbance on the crypto industry in the global market.
(Zhao Changpeng refuted the Wall Street Journal's revelation: He did not discuss the Binance US transaction with the Trump family, nor did he ask for Trump's pardon)
When reporting becomes a script: neutral perspective is particularly important
This storm caused by the phrase "cousin" once again allows people to see how FUD may spread rapidly without any facts. Whether it is cultural misunderstanding, excessive speculation, or deliberate questioning, in CZ's opinion, the New York Times' preparation for this report is probably not out of journalism expertise, but deliberate.
He also admitted that this "shoot the arrow first and then draw the target" method of public opinion manipulation is one of the modern media diseases that he has been fighting against in the past few years. When public opinion begins to deviate from the facts, we need to be more vigilant against those mechanisms that weave emotional narratives in the name of news.
(Taiwan VASP bans cash transactions? Outrageous reports provoke social misunderstandings, media people point out five contradictions and call for self-respect)
This article "Are you on the New York Times for just saying "cousin"? Binance founder CZ personally reveals how media FUD started" first appeared in Chain News ABMedia.
