"does the fact that mr. crocodile eats small, flightless birds invalidate his argument that he can get me (a small, flightless bird) across the river faster than i could do so alone?"
the two possible decisions here are both extremely easy/obvious, regardless of your p.o.v. -- which one you choose depends only on whether or not you view money as the ultimate good.
yup, i agree w/ your edit; looks like media dropped the ball and went for what'd sound most outrageous. which especially sucks bc the original medium post was very well (and earnestly) written. press coverage did a disservice to all those involved.