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Hayden Dingman and Stephanie Palermo

EthicalPastebins
Jan 29th, 2016
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  1. UPDATE 02.29.2016: Hayden Dingman has replied to this pastebin after it was shown to him, his response can be read here: https://archive.is/4C4Yd (Dignman confirmed on twitter that this reply was indeed written by him: https://archive.is/u1rq7). I have revised this pastebin somewhat due to Hayden's reply, the previous version can be seen here: https://archive.is/c50iR . Every change in this pastebin has been noted as such.
  2.  
  3. Subject: Hayden Dingman and Stephanie Palermo.
  4. Sources: Twitter, PCWorld, LinkedIn, TriplePointPR's website.
  5. Final version completed on: 02.29.2016 (a previous version from 02.21.2016 has been revised: https://archive.is/c50iR)
  6. Credits: Original investigation, format is more or less based on the format of @BoogiepopRobin's pastebins.
  7.  
  8. Note: All dates within this document are presented in the American format; the month is written before the day.
  9.  
  10. Intorduction: twitter conversations between gaming journalist Hayden Dingman and PR person Stephanie Palermo reveal multiple instances in which the two have hung out with each other, the earliest one which is documented in this pastebin occured on July 2013. The relationship between the two has not been disclosed in several articles in which - according to the judgement of this writer - it would have been relevant.
  11.  
  12. In the previous version of this pastebin I have made the statement that Dingman and Palermo have been friends since at least as early as July 2013, as this was the month in which the earliest instance of them hanging out that is known to me occured. Dingman disputed my assessement that he was friends with Palermo already at that point, saying that he sees the start of his friendship with Palermo as having occured around March/April of 2014 (https://archive.is/4C4Yd#selection-501.166-513.86). Dingman argues that he was not yet a friend of hers when he reviewed Outlast (https://archive.is/JBCUh) and The Banner Saga (https://archive.is/jBJDz) - two games that Palermo has been representing as part of her job at TriplePoint (see below) - on 09.27.2013 and 01.14.2014 (respectively).
  13.  
  14. I believe that even if Dingman did not consider Palermo to be a friend of his at that time, by meeting with her socially prior to writing both reviews he created what would at the very least be a reasonable appearance of a conflict of interest, an opinion on which I will expand in a seperate pastebin which will be published at a later date. At the same pastebin I'll also opine as to why as long as Palermo works at Capcom Dingman should disclose his relationship with her, even though he says he has not spoken to her for over a year (https://archive.is/4C4Yd#selection-615.0-626.0).
  15.  
  16. Background: as detailed on her Linkedin profile, between April 2011 to July 2014 Stephanie Palermo worked as a senior account executive for TriplePoint, a PR agency. After leaving TriplePoint she joined Capcom, where at the time of this writing she is still working as an Associate PR Manager (https://archive.is/mMOJQ#selection-279.0-347.260). Her twitter handle is @tigresaa. To prove that both the twitter user tigresaa and the owner of the linkedin profile linked here are the same person and not two similarly named individuals, I'll note that both are connected to an obscure website called Spawn Kill. On her linkedin profile Palermo mentions having been the site's EiC (https://archive.is/mMOJQ#selection-401.0-431.92). Palermo's linkedin profile links to a linkedin profile that was made for Spawn Kill, which in turn leads to the URL spawnkill.com (https://archive.is/QH9Pv). While the site is no longer active, thanks to waybackmachine I've managed to find an old version of the site from when it was still in use. Consistent with Palermo's linkedin page, Spawn Kill's staff page listed her as an EiC. The staff page also lists her twitter handle as tigresaa (https://archive.is/qdbiq#selection-393.0-423.8), linking this user to Spawn Kill as well .
  17.  
  18. The second participant in this conflict of interest, Hayden Dingman, has been working for PCWorld since April 2013 (https://archive.is/z8O6l#selection-261.1-285.33). Twitter handle: @haydencd
  19.  
  20. Tweets between Dingman and Palermo showing friendship between the two:
  21.  
  22. 07.17.2013: (@tigresaa) Rollercoasters, juice and pro-pantsless Obama. Or something. w/ @vahn16 @tishes34 @haydencd @usebomwisely http://4sq.com/13ifz8o (https://archive.is/5YJ1I)
  23. 07.18:2013: (@tigresaa) I shared a period of joy with someone from New Jersey last night. New Yorkers and New Jersians CAN be friends! cc @haydencd (https://archive.is/4V401)
  24. 09.03.2013: (@vahn16) If ever you road trip with @haydencd and I, know that there will be hours of loudly screamed ska music. This is both a promise and a warning (https://archive.is/kgwJa)
  25. 09.03.2013: (@tigresaa, responding to the above tweet): @Vahn16 @haydencd I want this, where are we going (https://archive.is/jTZJc)
  26. 09.03.2013: (@vahn16, responding to the above tweet): @tigresaa @haydencd You could've had it. We're driving back from Seattle right now. (https://archive.is/DkdEH)
  27. 10.17.2013: (@tirgresaa) Muahaha, @haydencd thinks he's coming to a big board game night tonight, but really I'm just going to eat his kidneys. (https://archive.is/uR8uJ)
  28. 10.18.2013: (@tirgresaa) We all lost our jobs as gynecologists last night, but it was worth it. @QuinnWageman @Seanbabydotcom @haydencd @Vahn16 (https://archive.is/lj2sT)
  29. 11.26.2013: (@haydencd) @tigresaa So that Civil War game you were playing last night...what is it...asking for a friend... (https://archive.is/1WF7H)
  30. 11.26.2013: (@tigresaa, responding to the above tweet) @haydencd It's called Battle Cry and it's FANTASTIC. Wizards of the Coast holds the IP now: http://www.amazon.com/Wizards-of-the-Coast-282950000WOC/dp/0786957484 … (https://archive.is/MJXPh)
  31. 11.26.2013: (@haydencd, responding to the above tweet) @tigresaa So board game night in December...(https://archive.is/vp92n)
  32. 02.28.2014: (@tigresaa) Tradition continues: we end board game night listening to Phil Collins & playing Dixit @loqheart @haydencd @Killermarmot @LeJerque @EricRuud (https://archive.is/piFLQ)
  33. 03.19.2014: (@Rich_Jones) @haydencd Really great to meet you last night, Hayden! I wish I were around SF for more of these wacky game nights. (https://archive.is/y2Mxv)
  34. 03.20.2014: (@haydencd, responding to the above tweet) @Rich_Jones They are the best thing about SF. @tigresaa is a saint. (https://archive.is/EQKgW)
  35. 03.20.2014: (@tigresaa, responding to the above tweet) @haydencd @Rich_Jones BLUSH. I seriously love organizing them.
  36. (https://archive.is/9K7n7)
  37. 04.17.2014: (@tigresaa) Another amazing board game night in the books, closed out with a fantastic game of Phil Collins-and-Rush Dixit. Thanks all for coming! (https://archive.is/qoLnB)
  38. 04.17.2014: (@loqheart, responding to the above tweet) @tigresaa @Killermarmot @DanShoeHsu @haydencd Thanks everyone for another wonderful board game night! Really liked your flyway game too :) (https://archive.is/Anm9O)
  39. 06.06.2014: (@tigresaa) Back from vacation just in time to binge watch some new Orange is the New Black tonight with @haydencd and @Killermarmot. (https://archive.is/mwQpb)
  40. 06.12.2014: (@tigresaa) Pancakes is just a catch-all word for "food, NOW" at E3. @haydencd @AlexQRyan @thekruth
  41. (https://archive.is/yiQBa)
  42. 06.26.2014: (@haydencd) It's @tigresaa's board game night and I have Meat Loaf blasting in the background. Y'all are missing out. (https://archive.is/VQQY8)
  43. 06.26.2014: (@tigresaa) Demon sultan brings the doom at board game night. @The_Katbot @yarlyitsanthony @haydencd @Killermarmot @stealthyslyth (https://archive.is/I2bMs)
  44. 06.26.2014: (@yarlyitsanthony) Lots of talk about soccer and balls (and games) with @tigresaa @Killermarmot @The_Katbot @haydencd and @stealthyslyth (https://archive.is/wdwzM)
  45. 07.05.2014: (@tigresaa) More than 20 lbs of meat at our July 4th BBQ. Leftovers: zero. Good work @MitchyD @AlexaRayC @haydencd @EatMyDiction1 @Killermarmot et al (https://archive.is/joRm6)
  46. 07.05.2014: (@tigresaa) Post-Fourth breakfast with two of my favorite singing goats! @Killermarmot @haydencd (https://archive.is/myJXe)
  47. 07.13.2014: (@tigresaa) Hiking yesterday on Mt. Diablo w @haydencd @killermarmot @DianaHSmith. Now onward to California Extreme! Hope to find Medieval Madness +DDR. (https://archive.is/nzvpS)
  48. 07.13.2014: (@haydencd) Arcade games are the best, @tigresaa and @Killermarmot are the best, and now I'm going to sleep for a million years. (https://archive.is/lOaoP)
  49. 07.13.2014: (@tigresaa, responding to the above tweet) @haydencd @Killermarmot Now watching Death Race 2000! (https://archive.is/nshye)
  50. 07.13.2014: (@haydencd, responding to the above tweet) @tigresaa @Killermarmot Without me? Sad day. (https://archive.is/LKdSx)
  51. 07.16.2014: (@haydencd) I still have an hour until I can head to @tigresaa's board game night, so I've got a lot of Fred Durst ahead of me. Strap in, people. (https://archive.is/bNvdT)
  52. 07.19.2014: (@tigresaa) Fast and the Furious marathon with @haydencd @Killermarmot @DianaHSmith & friends. About to watch one of the greatest movies: Tokyo Drift. (https://archive.is/DOSIZ)
  53. 07.19.2014: (@haydencd) . @tigresaa is dissecting shot composition in Tokyo Drift and pointing out which shots are particularly beautiful. (https://archive.is/MsTST)
  54. 07.20.2014: (@haydencd) Great time watching the OG Fast and Furious trilogy with @tigresaa @Killermarmot @DianaHSmith @dtoidsteven @SPNKr and @HatPerson last night. (https://archive.is/NvyTA)
  55. 08.21.2014: (@tigresaa) Any friends headed to the @TriplePoint industry board game night? I'll be bringing the game we designed tonight. :) (https://archive.is/c8TiW)
  56. 08.21.2014: (@haydencd, responding to the above tweet) @tigresaa @TriplePoint Maybe. (https://archive.is/QixQ6)
  57. 08.21.2014: (@haydencd) It's board game night and @tigresaa isn't here yet and everything feels wrong in the world. (https://archive.is/CMdIi)
  58. 11.03.2014: (@Killermarmot) Hey guys @haydencd @tigresaa , this is a thing, when are we getting tickets? What's our thematic food? (https://archive.is/90UgR)
  59. 11.03.2014: (@Killermarmot, responding to the above tweet) @haydencd @tigresaa Guess a link would help http://youtu.be/Skpu5HaVkOc (https://archive.is/rY57R)
  60.  
  61. Summary: twitter conversations suggest a relationship between Palermo and Dingman going back to July 2013 which involved hanging out with each other.
  62.  
  63. Articles with potential disclosure issues: On 09.27.2013 Dingman reviewd the game Outlast without disclosing his relationship with Palermo (https://archive.is/JBCUh). On 10.17.2012 TriplePoint issued a press release for the game (https://archive.is/liwvB), and on 07.24.2013 Palermo herself wrote a press release for the game that was released on TP's website (https://archive.is/FhL10). We can infer that Palermo and TP were involved in the Outlast's PR work prior to the time Hayden reviewed it.
  64.  
  65. On 01.14.2014 Dingman reviewd The Banner Saga (https://archive.is/jBJDz). On 11.08.2013 Palermo published a press release for the game on TriplePoint's webiste (https://archive.is/hvyoC), proving she was involved in the game's PR work prior to when Hayden reviewed it.
  66.  
  67. After Palermo became a PR for Capcom Hayden continued to cover the company and review their games without disclosure. Presented below are the articles in question, all of which were published in PCWorld:
  68.  
  69. 08.05.2014: First Resident Evil being re-remade for PCs, consoles (https://archive.is/pUnu8)
  70. 09.04.2014: Dead Rising 3 (PC) Apocalypse Edition review: The zombie apocalypse, now with silly hats (https://archive.is/PpzEI)
  71. 10.31.2014: Resident Evil's past and future: Hands-on with an HD remake and Revelations 2 (https://archive.is/vTJvT)
  72. 12.08.2014: New games galore: Day of the Tentacle, King's Quest, Street Fighter V, Banner Saga 2, and much more announced (https://archive.is/2Unqt). Commentary: Mentions Street Fighter V.
  73. 01.20.2015: Resident Evil HD review: Digging up old graves (https://archive.is/JAOsx)
  74. 02.27.2015: This week in games: Kanye West makes a video game, Dying Light sells adult diapers, and more (https://archive.is/ZxsHi) Commentary: mentions Resident Evil Revelations 2.
  75. 03.17.2015: Resident Evil Revelations 2 for PC is getting co-op, which it should have had to begin with (https://archive.is/DzL5t)
  76. 05.29.2015: This week in games: Twitch bans AO games as Hot Pockets head to virtual reality (https://archive.is/LF8tV) Commentary: mentions Resident Evil HD and Resident Evil Zero.
  77. 10.29.2015: 20 terrifying PC horror games to play with the lights off (https://archive.is/iUO2u) Commentary: slides 14 and 15 are Resident Evil games, in order to view relevant slides the article needs to be viewed without archive.
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