Looks like Bloody-Disgusting copped some bad info, because Rings director F. Javier Gutierrez tweeted this yesterday:
Hey peeps, #Rings is NOT a prequel, the story takes place 13 years after #TheRing🙂
— F. Javier Gutierrez (@FJ6utierrez) March 21, 2015
The twitter account is indeed his, and is linked to his official Instagram account.