Someone makes a false accusation, based on nothing but speculation that is utterly unfounded based on any kind of reasonable interpretation of what he admits the CEO told him.

Then other people pile on saying "the CEO's credibility is blown."

That is baloney. (the more polite form of the word I am thinking)

This is just bashing at its finest -- make up a story and then other people pile on and cry that the sky is falling because they say they speculate the CEO make have done something that he explicitly stated he did not do.

Okay, what I just typed made me angry enough to rephrase this.
I call BS.