Matt Mullenweg Faces New Storm with WP Engine, Drawing Strength from Past WordPress Scandals

In the wake of a heated dispute with WP Engine, WordPress founder Matt Mullenweg has revisited some of the most intense controversies of his career. In a recent interview, Mullenweg drew parallels between his current conflict and past scandals, including the infamous “Hot Nacho” scandal that led to WordPress.org being banned by Google in 2005.

Mullenweg, who is also the CEO of Automattic, noted that while the WP Engine incident is attracting significant media coverage and scrutiny, it pales in comparison to the challenges he has faced before. He believes that this latest controversy will eventually fade, much like the others.

“You know, some of these previous controversies got mainstream media coverage—CNN, The Register. I had this Hot Nacho scandal in the first couple of years of WordPress,” Mullenweg said. He also mentioned two other key incidents: the Easter Theme Massacre and the Thesis theme conflict. Despite the widespread backlash at the time, Mullenweg highlighted how these events have largely been forgotten by the public over the years.

The Hot Nacho scandal remains the most infamous of these past controversies. In 2005, Mullenweg was caught in a firestorm after accepting payment from Hot Nacho Inc., an SEO software company, to host tens of thousands of cloaked keyword-filled articles on WordPress.org. Keywords such as “asbestos” and “debt consolidation” were hidden in these articles, which were designed to manipulate search engine rankings. As a result, Google penalized and temporarily banned the entire WordPress.org website.

The incident sparked outrage across the tech community. Influential figures like blogger Jason Kottke openly criticized Mullenweg, accusing WordPress of undermining its credibility by contributing to spam and deceptive practices. “This stinks like last week’s fish,” Kottke wrote in a blog post at the time, expressing disappointment with the platform’s involvement in gaming search engines.

Mainstream media outlets also pounced on the scandal. The Register ran a scathing headline: “Blog star ‘fesses up to payola spam scam.” The article detailed how Mullenweg, then a young developer balancing his work with CNET and WordPress, had struck a deal with Hot Nacho to host the content using basic CSS cloaking techniques.

For his part, Mullenweg admitted to the mistake and issued a public apology. “Knowing what I knew then, I would probably make the same decision; knowing what I know now, I wouldn’t even consider it,” he wrote. He acknowledged that the lack of transparency and dialogue with the WordPress community had been a major oversight.

The scandal also attracted threats and harsh criticism from anonymous sources, pushing Mullenweg to develop what he described as a “thicker skin.” Despite the controversy, the incident had a silver lining. The negative publicity ironically boosted donations to WordPress, with contributions skyrocketing in the days following the scandal.

Hot Nacho’s founder later came to Mullenweg’s defense, explaining that the company had approached WordPress to test its SEO software and that there had been no malicious intent. However, the damage to WordPress’s reputation had already been done.

Reflecting on the ordeal nearly two decades later, Mullenweg views the Hot Nacho controversy as a formative experience. It shaped his ability to handle criticism and navigate high-stakes conflicts. This perspective, he suggested, is helping him stay resilient as tensions with WP Engine escalate.

The current dispute with WP Engine centers around open-source licensing and trademark issues related to WordPress technology. WP Engine, a major player in the managed WordPress hosting industry, has clashed with Mullenweg over the use of proprietary tools built on the platform. While WP Engine has defended its business practices, Mullenweg has accused the company of violating the principles of open-source software.

Although the conflict has generated significant attention within the tech community, Mullenweg remains confident that time will ultimately lessen its impact. He emphasized that his commitment to protecting WordPress and its open-source ideals is unwavering. “Sometimes you have to fight to protect your open-source ideals and your community,” he stated.

Mullenweg’s remarks serve as both a reflection on his journey and a message to critics and supporters alike. He acknowledges that leadership comes with tough decisions and occasional mistakes but believes that perseverance and transparency are key to overcoming challenges.

As the WP Engine situation unfolds, Mullenweg’s handling of past scandals offers context for his current approach. For now, he seems ready to face whatever comes next—just as he did during the Hot Nacho era.