Gizmodo Search and Seizure Casts Doubts That iPhone Leak Was PR Stunt

A little more than one week after news first surfaced that Gawker Media tech gadget site Gizmodo had secured Apple’s next iPhone – via a $5,000 payment to someone who found it in a bar – police raided the home of Gizmodo editor Jason Chen.

This development leads us to question several PR executives who at the time thought the move was a PR stunt, or that the phone that leaked was not the “real” next version of the iPhone, but a prototype version.

As PRNewser reported last week, Gawker Media chief Nick Denton said buying the leaked iPhone led to “hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of publicity for the site.”

Business Insider’s Henry Blodget has some thoughts on the legal implications of the search and seizure. We’ve reached out to several legal experts and will update this post as well.

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