--- title: "New York Times Makes Substantial Changes to Article That Glazed a Sleazy AI Startup: “Our Piece Should Have Included That Information”" description: "The New York Times issued updates to a story that omitted key details about a vibe-coded telehealth startup's seedy business practices." date: "2026-04-10" modified: "2026-04-10" authors: - name: "Maggie Harrison Dupré" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/mharrison" url: "https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/new-york-times-edits-medvi-article" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" - "Ethics" - "Health & Medicine" - "Medical" - "RX and Medicine" tags: - "glp-1" - "semaglutide" --- # New York Times Makes Substantial Changes to Article That Glazed a Sleazy AI Startup: “Our Piece Should Have Included That Information” ![A close-up of a computer screen showing a pixelated desktop icon of a trash can with the lid leaning against it, filled with crumpled paper. Below the icon, the word "Trash" is displayed in a pixelated font on a blue background.]() *Getty / Futurism* Last week, the *New York Times* published a [laudatory profile]() of a startup called Medvi, which is basically an AI-powered marketing wrapper for telehealth providers and compounding pharmacies that sells GLP-1 weight loss drugs. The twist, as the *NYT* reported, was that Medvi was started by just one guy, who still runs it with a skeleton crew; as such, the newspaper portrayed Medvi's swift and lucrative rise as an AI-enabled success story, and declared the startup as the first one-ish person company on track to surpass one billion dollars in sales. As readers [quickly pointed out](), though, the *NYT* either downplayed or omitted key details that cast Medvi in a much less flattering light. The piece failed to mention a warning from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) over [several alleged regulatory violations]() related to "false and misleading" marketing content, and didn't include any details about Medvi's ensnarement in multiple legal actions, which include an ongoing class action lawsuit against Medvi over alleged violations of California's spam laws. And as [*Futurism* first reported on in May 2025](), the company also engaged in dishonest marketing tactics including claiming that it had partnered with a doctor who told us he had no involvement with the company, and manipulating photos of random people online into "before-and-after" pictures of fake "Medvi patients." Now, the *NYT* has appended a chunky editor's note to the story, acknowledging the issues and noting changes to the article. "After this article was published, many readers noted that Medvi was facing legal and regulatory actions for its business practices. Our piece should have included that information to give readers a fuller picture of the scrutiny that the company was facing," reads the *NYT's* update. "We have updated the article to note a warning letter from the FDA and a pending class action lawsuit accusing Medvi of violating California's anti-spam law." https://twitter.com/robertfreundlaw/status/2042399025811644523?s=46&t=gHp48cUjoKYaVkYb2vg7Tw Medvi, meanwhile, has since [released a statement]() in response to the public scrutiny that followed the *NYT's* story. The company largely blamed its woes on uncouth affiliate marketers, and failed to answer our follow-up questions about its alleged compliance failures and deceptive marketing practices. **More on the Medvi fallout:** *[AI-Powered Drug Marketer Medvi Responds After Allegations About Fake Doctors and Patients]()* ## Author At Futurism, I've reported extensively on the rise of AI as a cultural and business force shaping the media industry, and more broadly how those dynamics are changing how we all consume and share information and relate to one another. I'm also fascinated by public health policy and ethics, the role of emerging tech in politics and governance — and the powerful people and forces at those intersections — climate change, and the environment. My investigation on Sports Illustrated's use of AI-generated authors with fictional biographies won a 2024 Mirror Award for "Best Story on Media Coverage of Artificial Intelligence in Journalism and the Media" from Syracuse University's SI Newhouse School, I contributed to Niemen Lab's 2025 Predictions for Journalism series, and I've discussed my work for Futurism during appearances on NPR, CNN, the BBC, the CBC, and more. I grew up in rural Pennsylvania and attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where I played Division I field hockey for the Minutewomen as a midfielder. Since then, I've lived in New Orleans, Louisiana and Manhattan, New York. I spend my free time running, reading, perusing archival fashion, and searching for the world’s best negroni. I also have a debonair tuxedo cat, Westley, who's named after "The Princess Bride." ### Author social links [Bluesky]()