Note to The Young Turks

Note to Young Turks

Actually, this goes out to all media, but The Young Turks and The Intercept will be the only ones who care.

There’s a German book “Der Desinformant” (“The Disinformation”) that describes how the East German government got disinformation into Western media: they bribed journalists.

Let’s get specific.  Journalists working for Western media outlets got monthly payments from the East German government to float stories that the East German government wanted told.  They didn’t know the payments were coming from the communist Germany.  They thought the information, or “news,” was from the CIA or Mi5.

In fact, “Der Desinformant” tells how many informants aren’t even aware that they were sources for intelligence information.

Back to the Plan.

I propose that The Young Turks establish a policy that its reporters do not take money from other sources that aren’t being disclosed.  This is not an attempt to get people to give up their weekend bartending gig.  It is just a test that, if this book is correct, other media organizations will not be able to meet.

It would be one hell of a rallying cry.

“The Young Turks does not let its reporters take payments from undisclosed sources.  Can the New York Times say that?”

I’m guessing they can’t.