January 2018, Mueller says Buzzfeed is wrong about Trump directing Cohen to lie. February 2018, Comey says NYT lied about Trump officials’ contacts with Russian intelligence officials. 1
How “lies” work in the media
Most “lies” in media are errors of omission, emphasis or characatures of self or of the despised other.
Unnamed Sources, Journalist Relationships and Narrative-building
In “unnamed sources” stories, intelligence agencies prepare audiences with scary-sounding priors so that if something does happen, it won’t seem as bad. [huh?]
Huge red flag: intelligence official calling reporter(s) (more reporters = worse red flag) to dole out scoops.
“Four Source Clover”: fact loophole characteristics:
- National Security or Law Enforcement source
- “Unnamed officials”
- Scoop is classified or otherwise unconfirmable
Often these are concoctions that intelligence officials use to create global narratives.
Relationships matter to journalists and intelligence/security officials. A history of a journalist covering intelligence/security is better. This indicates he has relationships. Officials don’t want to be outed - they need journalists to be smart and trustworthy, so they typically won’t burn them by dropping a lie on them to spread. Therefore, if an experienced and trusted intelligence/security journalist is writing something, it’s likely not a concoction of an intelligence official.
Journalist used to be blue collar
Journalists used to be lower class/blue collar. They resented Ivy League intelligence officers. Now, highly-educated and overachieving reporters (especially green ones) gush when they get a call from an official and happily “help out” unnamed sources.