Quoting the tweet in case it’s later deleted:
News outlets that hid behind “anonymous sources” to sell the Russia hoax and the Ukraine call narrative have no credibility left.
They weren’t misled, they were complicit in manufacturing political scandals.
If journalism wants to rebuild trust, it starts with one rule: no source stays off the record for stories built on power or politics.
Go on record, or don’t publish.
No! No! No! Holy motherfucking No!
Yes, journalists can use the cover of “anonymous sources” to manufacture stories to have their bylines attached to something potentially big. Yellow journalism has always been a problem. The “Remember the Maine” narrative that led to the Spanish-American War came about because of yellow journalism and competing newspapers manufacturing details via “anonymous sources”, driving public support for the US going to war with Spain. (It was later determined to be purely accidental.) And there are likely other instances across history where yellow journalism and manufactured stories has caused harm.
But requiring all journalists to reveal their sources for “stories built on power or politics” is not the way to go on that. The whole point of a free press is to allow anonymous whistleblowers to come forward and reveal corruption within the halls of power, and be protected by the journalists reporting on that.
No. Absolutely No. Holy motherfucking No! And will never NOT be No from me on that. Holy shit, tell me you no longer want a free press without telling me!
