Traditionally, or at least ideally, journalists have always understood that the option to use anonymous sources is a privilege that can be abused. There is an unspoken contract between the viewing public and news media that using an anonymous source is a last resort only to be used when a story is so important and so volatile that there is no safer way to report it than by hiding the origin of the material.
In the wrong hands, anonymous sources can be a propaganda tool, and when this abuse of trust goes on too long, reporters and the media outlets they work for lose credibility. This has been a problem for years, but it is only with the confluence of the maturation of social media on the Internet and the biggest attempted election fraud in history that the problem of deceptively sourced news stories came to the forefront of public perception.
Corporate media has leaned heavily on anonymous sources for years, and it has been the leading complaint that the public has had with them. But with the establishment and the corporate media’s desperation to hide the crimes of Democrats and invent the crimes of Donald Trump, alleged “anonymous source” have become a weapon against the conservative movement.
Now, the DOJ is stepping in and saying, ‘Enough is enough.’
It was a move that shocked many big names in mainstream media when Rod Rosenstein, the Deputy Attorney General released an unusual statement saying that we should be “skeptical about anonymous allegations.” This comes in the wake of months upon months of news outlets like CNN, NYT, and the Washington Post publishing stories about the president supposedly colluding with Russian election hackers with nothing but anonymous sources – a purportedly earth-shaking scandal with absolutely no solid proof other that unsubstantiated claims.
“Americans should use caution before accepting stories attributed to unnamed anonymous ‘officials,’ especially when they do not identify the country or the branch or agency of government the alleged sources are meant to be affiliated with,” the statement read. “The Department of Justice will not confirm nor deny anonymously sourced allegations.”
Rosenstein, who many have seen as a DOJ analog to Trump, made no mention of any specific reports. His criticism of news stories that are given sans sources is seen as a support for the president by the same media outlets that are responsible for so many anonymously sourced stories.
But the mainstream media does have a fair point about the chilling effect that Rosenstein’s comments may have. While anonymous sources are a risky thing for new reporters and journalists to rely on, they can also be a vital and necessary tool for reporting on sensitive information.
Without the ability to protect their sources, journalists could never report on important issues of corruption, abuses or power, malfeasance, and the like. It would completely de-fang journalists, making them have to rely only on what the subjects of the stories they report on themselves are willing to divulge, and it would be anyone’s guess at how truthful or honest those statements would be.
However, it is only too convenient that members of the MSM would be so vocal about freedom of speech and the right of the free press being infringed upon after months, in truth – years, of overusing and abusing their privilege to protect their sources.
It bears noting that Rosenstein has not imposed any legal action or inhibitions on the ability of the press to use anonymous sources. He simply warned the public that stories that make heavy use of unnamed official sources should be taken with a grain of salt. He has not forwarded a policy or started an initiative against anonymous sources. He has only used his position to indicate that this journalistic tactic is being over-used.
The fact remains that no substantial evidence of a Russian plot to collude with Trump has ever been brought to light. The only meaningful evidence on the matter comes from FISA court records, documents from intelligence agencies, and Wikileak’s Vault 7 file. All of these indicate the opposite of the Russian hacking allegations.
The available evidence tells us that intel agencies hacked Trump Tower, that the CIA has the capability to mimic Russian hack attacks, and that the media has been talking out of both sides of its mouth.
So, while it is unfortunate that we should be forced to suspect the media of abusing its privilege to protect its sources, we must suspect it nonetheless.
~ Liberty Planet
