The "hit piece" was written by Stallman himself.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/famed-mit-computer-scientist-r...
https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/9ke3ke/famed-computer-sci...
The MIT CSAIL and the FSF (according to the parent) were both deceived by a "hit piece." It's not 100% clear what the parent is calling a "hit piece," but this might be it: https://medium.com/@selamjie/remove-richard-stallman-fec6ec2...
Richard Stallman's email announcing he is resigning his position at MIT CSAIL: https://stallman.org/archives/2019-jul-oct.html#16_September...
FSF announcement of Richard Stallman resigning: https://www.fsf.org/news/richard-m-stallman-resigns
In any case, it's a cute sentiment but it's unclear it has any bearing on a world that isn't an authoritarian universe with a power-protected clergy class. Perhaps in terms of modern-day utility, we can interpret it as a warning to always check primary sources, not trust someone else to have accurately or honestly arranged six lines of text from a third party.
(Unfortunately for rms, the primary sources don't actually make him look that good in this situation, since he decided to "um actually" a conversation about rape).