De Man's disciples tried to portray the attacks on de Man as a cover for his critics' dislike of Deconstruction, alleging that the attacks were a ruse that used de Man's youthful errors as evidence of what they considered the decadence at the heart of the Continental thought behind de Man and his theories. The controversies quickly spread from the pages of scholarly journals to the broader media. "The Chronicle of Higher Education" and the front page of "The New York Times" exposed the sensational details of de Man's personal life, particularly the circumstances of his marriage and his difficult relationships with his children.