Too Good to be True?

What happened?

Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg dropped what could be his most significant piece since he won a substantial award for drawing bogus links between Saddam Hussein and al-Qaeda. The piece claims that during a 2018 visit to France, President Trump canceled a visit to an American war cemetery, dismissing the dead who lie there as “suckers” and “losers” unworthy of his walking among their graves.

Outsiders have expressed skepticism of the story for many reasons. For starters, in Goldberg’s account, Trump also questioned America’s pointless and enormously costly involvement in World War One. If Trump said that, it would be an unprecedented display of historical knowledge and insight on the President’s part. You know: the mainstream media are certain Trump knows NOTHING about American history, especially not about either World War.

Then there’s the fact this supposed exchange happened all the way back in 2018. For four years, every remotely unflattering conversation involving the President has leaked almost immediately: the phone call with then-Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull, or the “shithole countries” remark. But somehow, this conversation was locked-up in Manhattan Project-level secrecy for more than two years, through a hotly contested midterm election, before abruptly being leaked and confirmed by four separate sources at the apex of the 2020 campaign, with a very well-produced ad ready to come out barely 12 hours later. Yet confirmed Trump-hater John Bolton undercut the core claim of Goldberg’s piece in his own recently-published book?

And then there’s the “unnamed sources” part. Trump has innumerable public enemies, many of whom were once close advisers to his administration. Yet for this “ironclad” story, nobody is willing to go on the record, while numerous people are on the record denying it. Supporters have pointed to Goldberg’s personal reputation as a decorated journalist and the Atlantic’s status as a very credible and respected news outlet. Remember, though, this is the same magazine that printed a fake story to justify the defunding of the police. According to Goldberg, his sources just couldn’t take the fateful final step of lending their names to their allegations because they fear having mean tweets sent at them. Literally! Two former senior administration officials also “confirmed” the story to Fox News. That meant the news most certainly was truthful because everyone knows FOX is in the tank for Trump and would never report anything so negative about the President.

“Come on, Man!” Whoever these alleged sources are certainly would know the significance of not only the content of their claims but also the timing of Goldberg’s story. So why would such a reputable reporter for such a respected news outlet even consider publishing such information and without naming sources?

“Some Things are too Unbelievable to be Believed by Anyone.”

Before we conclude today with input on the reality of media “anonymous sources,” here’s some inside information about Atlantic’s editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg.

“Unnamed” sources from inside the Atlantic have shared disturbing information about editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg. According to these four unnamed sources, Goldberg lives in terror of his staff.

In 2018, when the Atlantic’s Red Guards targeted a recently hired conservative Kevin D. Williamson, Goldberg at first tried to defend him, but later, according to three eyewitnesses, began crying, soiled himself, then hid in a bathroom on a different floor of the building for seven hours. (Yes, it’s true: an “anonymous source” confirmed the details to TruthNewsNetwork!)

Sources said Goldberg’s letter announcing Williamson’s firing after a single week was extracted under offensive threats from his staff: they hated Kevin D. Williamson not so much for his writings, but he’s a Conservative! And every decent journalist — especially an editor-in-chief at Atlantic — should NEVER hire a real Conservative. By doing so, Goldberg threw mud in the faces of Mussolini and Stalin!

Since the Williamson incident, Goldberg seldom interacts with his staff. He stays to himself and communicates with his writers and other editors through email and text.

Summary

There are undoubtedly several “real” thinkers looking-in today who take umbrage with some of the stuff included in the last paragraph. It may seem crude for me to allege these things were happening in Atlantic offices and by Goldberg. After all, the sources that related them to us remain unknown. It’s impossible for their verification.

Isn’t it a bit comical that the same is true of Goldberg’s story? The umbrage every American should take is this: if a person has information that if made public, will demean, diminish, threaten professionally or personally any person — especially an important and very public person — those Americans who demand the truth in reporting are also in more significant and growing numbers requiring ALL sources not only have references but the revelation of those sources with such a story.

I am a journalist, and I summarily reject that worn talking-point that “in real journalism in a free nation, we must protect the identities of those who reveal information that is vital to our nation. Often revealing their identities will place them in personal and professional jeopardy. We must protect them.”

What about the Truth?

Do today’s journalists not understand those claims cut both ways? Doesn’t journalism owe all of those who partake in it in anyways factual information and not merely opinions and hateful innuendos? Is there such a consuming rush for ugliness to use against political opponents that our editors and publishers abandon the necessity first to be factual?

This rush to believe anything demeaning of a political opponent is being quickly and regularly paraded to Americans as News when, in most cases, is found to be nothing but gossip.

Where is the accountability? What can be done to eliminate this yellow-journalism?

Since reporters, editors, and publishers no longer demand verification before reporting news, the only option is for Americans to exercise the ultimate accountability: Capitalism. Atlantic, CNN, MSNBC, Washington Post, New York Times, any and every other news outlet rely on readers, viewers, listeners, who are the consumers required for news outlets’ success. If Americans will say, “Enough!” this will stop.

Isn’t it shameful that we’re even having such a conversation? Power begets followers. Followers beget consumers. Consumers begat advertisers. Advertisers begat advertising revenue.

“The Love of Money is the Root of ALL Evil.”