It does bother me that VICE sometimes over-editorializes some of its stories and does some truth stretching. Overall, I think the quality stories are worthwhile and I can just roll my eyes at the misinformative ones, e.g. many on motherboard.vice.com.

I clicked on another entry in this ranty blog and found a hilarious VICE parody done by the Onion: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHvrirXi5Ds .

The whole zoo is like a fancy dress competition I dont see why VICE should be demonized or singled out.

P.S. Vice also remains probably the only media house to come up with these real off beat stories. They might have taken creative liberties with facts but then who does not ?

Examples:

https://broadly.vice.com/en_us/article/life-as-a-member-of-i... http://www.vice.com/read/first-person-shooter-building-maint... http://www.vice.com/read/why-prisons-should-give-inmates-acc...

Regardless, a vast majority of their content doesn't include any reference to marketable brands. If the OP is accusing them of being a PR news agency, I have seen very little evidence of it. Questioning wether they are a business trying to earn a profit is incredibly naive.

However, if I was to criticize anything about their journalistic integrity, it's the tendency for their reporters to inject too much personal opinion. Though they do often succeed at concluding their pieces in a way that leaves the consumer considering multiple perspectives.

We don't have nearly enough (imperfect or not) media companies pursuing the types of stories Vice does. Given their willingness to publish exceptionable stories, it's no wonder there are significant attempts to discredit them.

Its been very blatant since the early days of print that advertisers either received additional editorial coverage or had plausible problems ignored by writers. The most explicit is the automative review articles which describe a technical object with near poetry. Of course, car companies are a huge advertiser for most newspapers and magazines.

So Vice produces some very edgy well researched content about topics which push in to the land of the dark things big corporations do and are involved in such as slave labor in the Middle East. Of course companies that are worried Vice is the next 60 Minutes sign up and fork over money in excess of what programatic buying would dictate the market rate is.

If advertisers are "buying" native content that has to be disclosed - period - yet because it is hardly enforced almost no one cares.

I'm sure they do or have done some quality journalism, but the amount of bullshit they do shovel leaves them suspect as a whole to me.

They do exist, Great Big Story http://www.greatbigstory.com for one.

I guess in some multiverse you're simultaneously trying to advocate and discredit me at the same time.

Since I'm the author of the article and you seem passionate about the subject if you have any specific criticisms. Like a fact I got wrong or something please share! Unlike Vice, I'm open to corrections.