I don't mean that in an ethical sense. People lie. Whatever. But the focus on "fact checking" Trump - when it happens - misses the point that it isn't about any particular lie (usually) it's that he lies constantly. Nothing he says has anything but the occasional accidental relationship with the truth. And it isn't just the boss. They all lie without shame. Every single one of them all the time. Maybe it's impossible to introduce skepticism into every story, but some reporters - cough aggieMay abermanHay - have a tendency to report things as FACT based on what people tell her, rather than simply reporting that people said something. The latter can also be a problem. Simply reporting what was said also makes it as if the quoted assertion was true, but at least it doesn't add the journalist's additional blessing to it.
An example:
Aides said the episode reflected how the persistent questions about Mr. Trump’s ties to Russia have all but paralyzed the president. Baffled by his solicitous tone toward Mr. Putin, some people close to Mr. Trump have concluded that he feels vulnerable to Mr. Putin, even if it is in his own mind, rather than because of any damaging information possessed by the Russians.
I honestly don't even know what this paragraph even means. "Vulnerable to Putin" but not because of any damaging information. Wuhhh?
But aside from that, Maggie is telling us what they say they have concluded, not what they have actually concluded. They might be lying! And they lie all the time, even though every reporter has sources who are the good ones in the Trump administration. Here is the list of good ones:
