Livestream Tonight at 5 pm EST: "People Familiar With the Matter" Strike Again
Looking under the hood of the world's dopiest attribution, which is behind yet another "bombshell" news report
Since last week’s experiment with a livestream seemed to go over well, I thought I’d repeat it, perhaps with an eye out to making it into a regular thing. However, this time I’m going to focus not on material already reported on this site (we just released a long-in-the-works piece based on leaked Labour Party files) but other stories. The idea is to show what a particularly absurd news report looks like at a line-by-line level, to someone with the misfortune to have worked in this business for as long as me. I once saw Penn and Teller do the cups and balls trick using clear cups — this is the same idea, but with journalism instead of something cool like magic.
Topic of the day: another “people familiar with the matter” blockbuster hits the headlines. (The Orfalea video above should offer a clue as to subject.) Also, a little on the “UK Files,” an overlooked item from “Big Brother is Flagging You,” and other notes, time permitting. Click here at 5 p.m. EST to tune in, and for those complaining about YouTube: I know, I know. If and when we do this again, we should have solutions for Rumble and other sites.
In any case, for Racket readers who can put up with the inconvenience, I’d love to see you tonight.
PFM= not really news. That attribution should be purged from "news."
OK- this triggered me. I saw an article on cost overruns in the new Acela Train Sets in Trains Magazine Dec 2023 Pg 7. I am being very specific because the article references an October OIG report (paragraph 3) where the amount of cost overruns are REDACTED "due to their sensitive nature!" Why is this being concealed and by an inspector general no less? It brings to mind over classification, the use of redactions to hide incompetence, and of course anonymous sources. I have been complaining about them all for quite a while because I think they are all manipulative most of the time and designed to conceal corruption, incompetence, the lack of veracity or integrity of a source, just plain laziness, or a manufactured story (like the circular Russia-Gate and other stories where the source makes up the story is involved in such and then comments on it or acts as a confirmer. Similarly the alleged need to protect sources and methods usually is in reality being used to protect weak or corrupt sources and corrupt or otherwise questionable methods.
I think it is worth creating a file for every time something like this happens- redactions to conceal the truth, unnamed sources who turn out to be not objections, stories that turn out to be manufactured or gross mischaracterizations, and other things like that. Answering and attacking these types of things are also critical to free speech- it is very important to note that it is not just speech that people do not like that is being suppressed but most importantly the truth or at least the search for the truth.
Finally, over classification needs to be dealt with- very few things actually need to be classified- the chemical makeup of composite wings in a stealth bomber. Nuke codes. Battle plans. Programming code for weapon systems. Sensitive technology. Not which generals and political leader F'ed up the Afghan withdrawal. Not who was entrapping George Papadopoulos. I could go on but...End Rant.