Anonymity unwise in age of ‘fake news’
I wouldn’t publish an anonymously written guest column, or op-ed, not even if my mother wrote it. Neither would this newspaper.
Not that I would ever doubt my mother. I certainly don’t doubt the authenticity of the anonymously written op-ed published last week by The New York Times. The piece, titled “I am part of the resistance inside the Trump administration,” was attributed to an anonymous “senior official”.
The author wrote that some administration officials are working behind the scenes to protect the country from President Trump’s “misguided impulses” and “worst inclinations.”
The Times is the most thoroughly vetted and well-sourced newspaper in the world. It also maintains an impregnable and impressive firewall between reporters and opinion writers.
I trust that the opinion editors at The Times know who the anonymous author is, verified the author’s background, and discussed his or her possible motivations.
“We concluded that the author’s principal motivation was to describe, as faithfully as possible, the internal workings of a chaotic and divided administration and to defend the choice to nevertheless work within it,” Times Opinion Editor James Dao wrote. “The resulting essay, we believe, is an important piece of opinion journalism.”
Maybe. But opinion journalism is a form of journalism.
One of journalism’s fundamental principles is to seek truth and report it, accurately and fairly, without fear or favor. That requires clearly identifying our sources of information.
That transparency must include opinion writers – columnists, editorial writers, and guest columnists.
Their work should be distinctly marked and, as often as possible, clearly separated from news content. That’s why we publish a separate Viewpoint section every day, in print and online.
That’s why we verify and identify by name, title and photograph (when available) the authors of our guest columns. That’s why we are breaking from tradition of publishing unsigned editorials.
Traditionally, editorials carry no byline. They are presented as the “voice” of the newspaper – in particular, its editorial board. Starting this month, all editorials will be signed by their authors.
Transparency. That’s important in these talk media, social media times when the line between reporting and commentary has all but been erased. When news and information has been politicized, even weaponized, by foreign countries, politicians, special interest groups, media and the general public.
When disinformation is presented as information, and “fake news” is presented – and too often believed – as actual news.
Journalism relies on anonymous sources to point us toward the truth, but information from anonymous sources should be confirmed by knowledgeable, trusted and identified sources.
If what the anonymous author wrote is true, the “senior official” has a duty to report his deep concerns openly to Congress, if not the public.
If it’s true, The New York Times and other serious and legitimate news organizations have a duty to seek the truth and report it using more than a single anonymous source.
David Waters is the Opinion Editor for The Commercial Appeal.