This turned out to be a hoax, am I right that it was cut then loaded to failure?

Looks cut

Fail or cut? Did someone ever find out?

I recall this photo being taken by John Sherman. Sent in to Mammut and they said it was cut. The sling was part of a directional on a rap line he was using to "clean" a route. Failed after some bouncing while prying off loose blocks. Whether it was animal chews, malicious intent, or whatever the synopsis was cutting. There is a whole report that Mammut did on this sling somewhere out in the nether regions of the internet. Or I might have it.

From the photo, the sling appears to have been cut, but that being said (several times now), what's the issue at hand?