The Atlantic commits journalistic malpractice with anti-Trump 'October surprise' hit piece

Complete and total hackery.

On Tuesday afternoon, The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg published an anonymously sourced hit piece that claimed President Trump had spoken fondly of Adolf Hitler. The story is laughable propaganda and absurd on its face. It’s just another indication that the corporate media is continually destroying what’s left of its credibility, and that Democrats are going to lose badly in two week’s time.

Here’s the Too long; didn't read (TL;DR) version for those who can’t stomach the thought of reading more garbage from the legacy media:

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1. Trump is depicted as an angry, racist, bitter cheapskate who declared, “I need the kind of generals that Hitler had,” adding, “People who were totally loyal to him, that follow orders.”

2. Everyone who commented publicly on the story and who was said to be in the room with the president at the time of this alleged statement has said the story is entirely made up and that the president never said those words.

3. Goldberg’s sources are anonymous, described as “two people who heard him say this.”

Now, you’re going to read tons of hot takes on the piece itself, righteously stressing the utter hackery of a Democrat operative publishing an “October surprise” with made-up nonsense to help Kamala Harris. That’s certainly true. The good news for the Trump campaign is that The Atlantic and its legacy media allies don’t have the sway they used to. A decade ago, a legacy media hit piece would have much more staying power. Today, it’s widely mocked by sane people as nothing but deception, though it will surely be circulated among the Blue Anons to confirm their lunatic worldview.

But more importantly, for a man heralded as a seasoned and serious journalist, Goldberg has committed journalistic malpractice of the highest order.

The Goldberg story has a big tell that destroys its credibility. It comes in the way the proud Obama sycophant uses anonymous sourcing.

Any reputable style guide will tell you that Goldberg used anonymous sources in a fashion that should have rendered his piece ineligible for publication. It speaks to the demise of what many would consider credentialed and polished brands. There’s no way my former editors at Breitbart, The Blaze, and elsewhere would’ve let me publish something like this.

There are only two legitimate reasons to use anonymous sources in a piece:

1. The information has sensitive national security implications

2. The information, if linked to a certain individual, may threaten their physical wellbeing

Every other “reason” is almost always baloney and the mark of a fake news story.

Given that the piece discusses an alleged incident that occurred in 2020 under the Trump Administration, there is no security issue or worry that certain government personnel could be unmasked. There is also no safety issue.

The Goldberg piece uses anonymous sourcing as a weapon and a shield, both for himself and his “sources,” who are, in all likelihood, anti-Trump political operatives who have publicly endorsed Kamala Harris for president.

Formatting stories in this manner creates a purposeful accountability vacuum. The anonymous sources are free to peddle falsehoods and not be held accountable. It also allows for Goldberg to not be held accountable. Even if someone finds out who delivered him the information, he can just claim ignorance, having merely laundered their anonymous statement into his publication.

If you’re a Trump supporter, I wouldn’t be worried whatsoever. The piece reeks of desperation. It’s preposterous that the most philosemitic president in American history has some kind of secret Hitler fascination. The Democrats know they’re getting smoked, and this is more evidence that all momentum is with the former president heading into Election Day. The Kamala campaign is going so poorly that they decided to give her the day off on Tuesday, perhaps realizing that a “hide her in the basement” strategy might be more beneficial to her chances at this point.

Goldberg is a fraud. Trump is going to win. It’s a very weak “October surprise.” If this is all the Dems have in their arsenal, they’re cooked.