I believe that every situation requires context and a proper comparison for precedent relating to other tampering issues. It's very possible that the article would fall under the tampering banner and some form of punishment is warranted. However, I do find this particular punishment to be a tad extreme, especially factoring in the co-GM being rather new to the position IIRC.

I certainly don't believe this instance to be as blatant of a tampering instance as some in the past, and I do think that a less extreme punishment is more so warranted, when the proper context of the situation is applied.