President shares segment about North Korea that cited ‘US officials’ who ‘requested anonymity’ less than a day after calling out the New York Times

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

Donald Trump shared a news story on Tuesday that cites anonymous sources and leaked intelligence less than 24 hours after criticizing the practice.



Trump, who is at the beginning of his 17-day vacation in New Jersey, criticized the New York Times for its “non-existent sources” and berated the “Fake News Media” on Monday night.

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Then, early Tuesday morning, he shared three Fox and Friends news segments, including one about North Korea that cited “US officials with knowledge of the latest intelligence” but did not identify who the officials are, and quoted an “official who requested anonymity”.

The Fox News story asserted that US spy satellites had detected North Korea moving anti-ship cruise missiles to a patrol boat.

As president, Trump would probably have access to information in the articles he shares that credit anonymous sources.

Criticizing the practice of anonymous sourcing, then sharing a story that cites anonymous sources soon after, has become something of a monthly pattern for the president.

In May, Trump encouraged people to question stories that include the phrase “sources say”, because “it is very possible that those sources don’t exist but are made up by fake news writers”.

Two days later, he shared a Fox and Friends story about his son-in-law and White House adviser, Jared Kushner, that was attributed to anonymous sources.

In July, he again said people should be wary about the phrase “sources say” in news articles, then shared a story that cited anonymous sources.

Trump’s Twitter history is checkered with instances of citing anonymous sources or “many people are saying” to promote a message that aligns with his stated worldview but is not supported by facts.

But the attacks against journalists and news organizations who use anonymous sources escalated dramatically once Trump became a viable contender in the presidential election.

On 30 September 2016, Trump said: “Anytime you see a story about me or my campaign saying ‘sources said’, DO NOT believe it. There are no sources, they are just made up lies!”

Two weeks later, he shared a Fox News story that included the phrase “the source said” nine times. The “source” was mentioned five other times in the story.

The administration has made it a priority to crack down on leakers. The US attorney general, Jeff Sessions, said last week that the justice department had “tripled the number of active leak investigations” and devoted new FBI resources to cracking down on leakers, promising also that the department was reviewing its approach to journalists.

Asked about the story on Fox & Friends, UN ambassador Nikki Haley said: “I can’t talk about anything that’s classified and if that’s in a newspaper, that’s a shame.”

It’s unclear if the information is classified. The US military routinely discloses information about North Korea missile movements and launches. The type of missile movements in the story appears fairly routine.

Pressed on whether this was a leak, Haley said: “It’s one of these things I don’t know what’s going on. But I will tell you that it’s incredibly dangerous when things get out into the press like that.”

The Associated Press contributed to this story