“If our leaders seek to conceal the truth, or we as people become accepting of alternative realities that are no longer grounded in facts, then we as American citizens are on a pathway to relinquishing our freedom,” Tillerson said. “A responsibility of every American citizen to each other is to preserve and protect our freedom by recognizing what truth is and is not, what a fact is and is not, and begin by holding ourselves accountable to truthfulness, and demand our pursuit of America’s future be fact-based.”

It’s a nice — and important — sentiment. But given how often Tillerson stood by silently while other members of the Trump administration told blatant lies, his indirect criticism now isn’t nearly sufficient. He should be brave enough to acknowledge whom he’s really talking about. (For more on Tillerson’s outstanding debt to the country, read Michelle Goldberg.)

4. Pro-Trump media outlets — many of which have little regard for truth — are spreading, Sara Fischer of Axios reports. These outlets include Salem Radio, Sinclair Broadcasting, Fox News and, Fischer writes, local websites promoting Republican candidates that are “intentionally framed to look like real news websites.”

Greg Sargent of The Washington Post notes that this pro-Trump media may become even more significant as the Russia investigation moves forward: “Trump’s ability to rely on an extensive media network that will back him to the hilt no matter what gives him an advantage that President Richard Nixon did not have during the climax of Watergate. As Fischer’s reporting indicates, we don’t really have a clear sense of just how extensive or influential that network really is. And we don’t have any idea yet what this really means for the country over the long term.”

The connection among the four stories: The president is going to keep lying, and his allies are going to keep covering for him. The rest of us need to remember that a lie is still a lie, even when it’s coming from the president.