How much is there to detest about media company Axios? Ahh, let me count the ways…

1) As reported on the news site The Defector, then picked up in the Atlantic, they are currently trying to game the NY Times Bestseller List by strongly encouraging staff members to buy six copies of the site founders’ new book for which the company will reimburse them. With 500 employees, they’re trying to gin up evidence of sales momentum to get a leg up on the list. See this for what it is: the moral equivalent of straw donor political contributions, and a dishonest, inauthentic sales and influence campaign.

Read Robinson Meyer’s 2-min read in the Atlantic to get the whole dastardly tale. I imagine the NYT Books Dept and Survey people have all seen this by now, and are adjusting their metrics accordingly. Disappointed in the book’s authors Jim VandeHei, Mike Allen, and Roy Schwartz, published by Workman, unfortunately. #books #astroturf #bestsellerlists