Those articles, which, among other things, explained why Apple has moved its manufacturing overseas and why no companies build high-tech gadgets in the U.S. anymore, increased the scrutiny of how Apple makes iPhones and iPads.

The articles also unearthed details that Apple presumably did not want emphasized—including how hard the people who make iPhones and iPads work and how little money they make, as well as how many Americans have been left jobless by the industry's move overseas.

Apple has since responded to these stories and others by beefing up its monitoring of its supply chain and defending its decision to build products in China. And sophisticated New York Times readers at least now understand precisely why Apple builds products in China—and why it has no choice to but to do so. (This trend is not Apple's fault, and it is not incumbent upon Apple to fix America's problems.)