(Credit: Wikipedia)

The Guardian unpublished an article claiming Bill Gates commissioned a superyacht.

Why? Because the article contained a “fundamental error in facts.”

The article has been replaced with a note explaining the yacht designer denied any connection to Gates. That note reads:

“This article was removed on 12 February 2020 after the Guardian was notified of a fundamental error in facts reported. The original article said that Bill Gates, the co-founder of Microsoft, had commissioned a hydrogen-powered superyacht known as Aqua, designed by Dutch design firm Sinot. However, Sinot Yacht Architecture & Design issued a statement saying that Aqua is “not linked to Mr Gates (or his representatives) in any form or matter” and that Sinot has not sold the concept to, and has “no business relationship” with, Gates.”

The design firm, Sinot Yacht Architecture & Design, has a statement on its website dated Feb. 10 addressing “various articles..in international media” about the claim Gates bought the Aqua boat concept.

“Sinot Yacht Architecture & Design wants therefore to make the following clear:

*The Hydrogen concept Aqua is not linked to Mr. Gates (or his representatives) in any form or matter

*Sinot has no business relationship with Mr Gates

* Aqua is a concept under development and has not been sold to Mr. Gates

*Unfortunately, all ‘information’ in these recent articles is incorrect”

iMediaEthics has written to Sinot, Gates’ representatives and the Guardian. The Guardian pointed to its online statement.

UPDATED: 2/27/2020