Longtime NYT Food Writer Mark Bittman Accused of Stealing Logo From Feminist Newsletter to Launch New Online Magazine

Mark Bittman, a former food writer for The New York Times, has been accused of copying the logo and name of a volunteer-run publication devoted to women, trans, and non-binary people to launch a new online food magazine. Just hours after The New York Times wrote about the debut of Bittman’s new publication, called “Salty,” the food writer was called out on social media by the creators of another publication called Salty, which posted images side by side of its own logo and that of Bittman’s magazine. Both feature the word “Salty” in a thick, dark pink font set against a light pink background. Salty, which describes itself as a “feminist, sex, dating, and relationship newsletter” called out Bittman and Medium, which hosts his new publication, saying its logo and name had been ripped off. “When Medium and Bittman invest in and launch “a ‘new’ platform called Salty,” the group wrote, “with an eerily similar logo and led by an old white dude no less, and which is ALSO exhalted [sic] with a profile in the NYT.. we think ‘HMMMMM. Something is awry here.” Bittman acknowledged the “mistake” on Instagram and promised to resolve the issue. “This was a mistake (stupid, but honest), and we’re working on changing our name and logo right now,” he wrote.