BuzzFeed News allows America to step into a Watergate scandal in 2019

On Jan 17, at 10:11 p.m., BuzzFeed News published a new article in its ongoing investigation “The Money Trail.” Since then, both the news cycle and the social media sphere have been abuzz with the story. Some, including President Donald Trump and special counsel Robert Mueller, claims the article is entirely false and inaccurate, pointing out the parent company, BuzzFeed, is primarily known for their quizzes, YouTube shows and entertainment features. Others are quick to claim, and rightfully so, this article as proof that America is entering a new Watergate-esque period.

With Mueller office investigating Trump and his ties to Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, it stands to reason that the two parties are not working together to attack BuzzFeed News, but it is a symbol of something larger. Having both Trump and Mueller deny the validity of the article is a sign that the government is trying to silence the journalists. As the fourth estate, journalists have a right and obligation to report the news, even if that includes the president and a political scandal.

In 2019, the word “Watergate” is synonymous with scandal. The suffix “-gate” is added onto words in order to “name” a scandal. Tom Brady and Ariana Grande are familiar with this treatment in regards to Deflategate and Donutgate, respectively. However, the word comes from the Watergate Hotel in Washington, DC.

In 1972, a break-in at the hotel became the catalyst for investigative reporting which ultimately lead to the resignation of President Richard Nixon two years later. For almost 50 years, Watergate has been the de facto example of investigative journalism, until today.

The BuzzFeed News article in question, “President Trump Directed His Attorney Michael Cohen To Lie To Congress About The Moscow Tower Project” by Jason Leopold and Anthony Cormier, is the 20th article published as part of the organization’s year-long investigation into the relationship between Trump and Russia. The popularity, and severity, of this story, comes from two unnamed sources who informed BuzzFeed News that Cohen told special counsel Robert Mueller that Trump told him to lie under oath about his role in the planning of Trump Tower Moscow, or the Moscow Project.

While using only unnamed sources is not the best way to report news, sometimes when it comes to investigative reporting, it is the only way. By not naming sources, journalists are protecting the identity of the sources. It is not an ideal scenario, but sometimes the truth is bigger than the sources and in investigative journalism, not naming your sources should only be used in limited circumstances. The editor-in-chief of the publication must be the person who makes the ultimate decision of whether to print a story without naming sources. In regards to the Watergate story, the source went unnamed with only a moniker, Deep Throat, as an identifier.

Trump denied the story’s validity with a tweet saying, “Remember it was BuzzFeed that released the totally discredited ‘Dossier,’ paid for by Crooked Hillary Clinton and the Democrats (as opposition research), on which the entire Russian probe is based! A very sad day for journalism, but a great day for our Country!”

He later claimed, in a follow-up tweet, “Fake News is truly the ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE!”

Peter Carr, spokesperson for special counsel Mueller’s office, also denied the validity of the article.

“BuzzFeed’s description of specific statements to the Special Counsel’s Office, and characterization of documents and testimony obtained by this office, regarding Michael Cohen’s Congressional testimony are not accurate,” said Carr in a statement.

The government trying to censor journalistic efforts is common. Looking at the Watergate scandal, Nixon tried to ban the Washington Post from the White House Press Corps as retribution. Government, regardless of political affiliation and ideology, tends to try to suppress the journalist. This is why journalists should not use the phrase “if true” when analyzing a news article. It does nothing but cause mistrust in the media and mistrust in the audience.

After the story was published, many of the criticisms, unfortunately, came from within the journalism field. Washington Post, the newspaper that broke the Watergate story, called the story, “the highest-profile misstep.” CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin said, “this is a bad day for news media.” Ronan Farrow,  Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, tweeted he did not report on aspects of the story because he had an unnamed source who deemed BuzzFeed News’ unnamed sources inaccurate.

While journalists should not blindly pledge their allegiance to every media outlet out there, they should not immediately condemn each other. Reporting and researching takes a lot of time – much more time than the 30 hours between Farrow’s tweet and the release of the story. If journalists want to police each other, and they should, they should apply as much research discrediting the story as they do to their other reports.

However, BuzzFeed News’ Editor-in-Chief, Ben Smith stood behind the story and asked for the Mueller office to clarify its original statement. In a tweet, the BuzzFeed PR released their only statement on the story, “Jason is one of the best journalists in the world, and he has proven it, with reportings that have been months ahead of developments in the Mueller investigation. His and Anthony’s work has been proven to be true at every turn – and it’s interesting that these personal attacks are surfacing only now, as the facts become more dangerous for the individuals involved. BuzzFeed News stands by this story 100 percent.”

While it is possible that the reporters may have made a mistake in their reports, they should not be automatically condemned. If a mistake was made in the article, readers should realize that mistakes are not lies or biases, they are simply mistakes. Leopold has received acclaim as a Pulitzer Prize finalist last year, so audiences should note that an intentional mistake would be out of character for his reporting.

Carl Bernstein, one of the reporters who broke the Watergate story, says everyone should be focused on the content, not on the mistakes if any of an investigative article. In an interview with the Washington Examiner, Bernstein admitted to having made a mistake while covering Watergate.

“What I’m saying is the reporting on the Russia story and the Trump presidency has been excellent, by and large,” said Bernstein. “And yes, reporters make mistakes. News organizations make mistakes. In Watergate, we made a mistake.”

If the Washington Post believes that BuzzFeed News is a “misstep” for the press, maybe they should remember what happened 47 years ago. A news organization ran an investigation into the breaking in of a DC hotel. During their process, they made mistakes, but their report was true. The true misstep was with respected and established newspapers and news channels condemning this article entirely and not allowing the journalists to have made a simple mistake. America is facing a Watergate-level scandal whether all Americans like it or not.