Matt Taibbi Is The Real Victim Here

#MattyDickPics confesses he's getting a partisan selection of files.

So embarrassing to be so easily manipulated by Elmo like this. pic.twitter.com/5eJLY5lcwN

— emptywheel (@emptywheel) February 21, 2023

Now admits (claims?) he's getting cherry-picked info and of course that's not his fault. Obvious follow up is, Did you ask for more complete information than what you were given? Try to find it out? Did you ask and were refused? Really basic questions. https://t.co/dGQVdSOkle

— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) February 21, 2023

3/ Shld be clear. But it's one thing when you're getting leaks and building a story. It's quite another when you're given preferred and unique access because the current owner of the information wants to prove a point (valid or otherwise).

— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) February 21, 2023

"Valid or otherwise." But how do you know the point is valid, if you don't also know otherwise? That's not even a question of journalism; that's just basic reasoning.

5/ hard. But when the source of the leaks is your patron, when they have granted you exclusive and extensive access, all that changes. You really can say, well, I need to see this that and the other document to know what this means. In that case you are working as an advocate ...

— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) February 21, 2023

Must confess I'm not sure how no. 4 works, or how it exonerates journalists from not simply being stenographers or microphones; but no. 5 is dead on (and, IMHO, eviscerates no. 4, as well as Taibbi).

7/ ask with the expectation that you'll get it. If you don't, that should raise immediate questions. At least it should make it into the copy.

— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) February 21, 2023

As I said: Taibbi is the real victim here. Just ask him, he'll tell you.

Holy shit this is exceptional. #MattyDickPics has decided to hire "people to chase down" the details he didn't check before he went on a Twitter rant. Because that's how he does "journalism."

Fucking hilarious. Just fucking hilarious. pic.twitter.com/25sGC70SDV

— emptywheel (@emptywheel) February 21, 2023