Hunterbrook publisher owns stake in company whose competitor was article subject

The publisher and co-founder of Hunterbrook Media, the startup newsroom whose affiliate places stock market bets to profit from its journalism, owns a stake in a competitor to a company that was recently the subject of a critical article, reports Maxwell Tani of Semafor.

Tani reports, “The focus of the story is a company called Safety Shot, which makes a drink it claims lowers blood alcohol content and can quickly sober up people who have been drinking. Hunterbrook’s report, edited by founder Sam Koppelman, said the product didn’t work.

“But Hunterbrook’s story did not disclose that Koppelman is an investor in another company in the same space, ZBiotics. Koppelman acknowledged, after Semafor reviewed documents showing the investment, that he has a small personal stake in the supplement startup, which on its website promises to help drinkers prevent hangovers.

“The pitch is not unlike that made by Safety Shot. While Hunterbrook’s article focuses on Safety Shot’s claim that it sobers you up after drinking, Safety Shot also markets itself as a hangover cure or preventer, the crux of ZBiotics’ product.”

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