OXON HILL — President Trump began his speech at CPAC with a lengthy attack on the “fake news” and the “dishonest media,” in which he said reporters “shouldn’t be allowed to use sources unless they use that person’s name.”
One justification Trump gave: He said reporters “make up sources” and seemed to specifically refer to a Washington Post story which cited nine anonymous sources.
One irony of this comment: The White House gave a background briefing this morning on the stories of an FBI investigation. Another irony: Trump repeatedly made up fake names for him to leak positive stuff about himself to the press.
But far more important is that this is a bad idea for journalism and a creepy thing for the president to say.
First, anonymous sources are crucial to accountability journalism. Many of the people with the most valuable information are people who would be harmed politically or professionally if their comments were publicly tied to them. Does the press abuse anonymous sources? Yes. Have anonymously sourced stories whacking Trump fallen apart? Yes.
That Post story, however, has held up, and there’s no evidence of anyone making up sources in that story. He cited no stories about him where sources were invented.
More broadly, the media’s ability to inform people requires anonymous sources. Most good outlets have standards for when to use such sources. Most reporters try to get their sources on the record, and only go anonymous when they have to.
But there’s a point here that goes beyond a disagreement with the president over journalism best practices:
When the president says people “shouldn’t be allowed to” do something, that doesn’t come across as a mere opinion. He’s the president. Federal law enforcement all work, ultimately for him. We know the U.S. government, under the two previous presidents, has gone after journalists, often to root out their anonymous sources.
While these are almost certainly empty words from Trump, it seems to be another instance of him not adapting to his new job, and not understanding the weight that his words carry now that he is President.
Timothy P. Carney, The Washington Examiner’s commentary editor, can be contacted at [email protected]. His column appears Tuesday nights on washingtonexaminer.com.
