Let's just get this out in the open: golden showers. Okay, now that we acknowledged the hashtag nickname for this dossier, we can shift our attention to someplace, uhm, cleaner. Or not.
In case it slipped you by, BuzzFeed News published an article about a dossier on Jan. 10 that claims Donald Trump and Russia have had familiar ties for years.
With over 5 million page views since, BuzzFeed News has exploded across the Internet and into the mouths of everyone from president-elect Trump to the classrooms of Journalism 101. The numerous memos are unverifiable but shocking to the ear, and juicy enough to catch enough traction to make it into the press room.
"I think it's a disgrace," Trump replied when asked about the dossier pushed into the public eye. He then proceeds to label the news organization as a "failing pile of garbage." So that easily sums up his view on the matter.
Was Buzzfeed in the wrong? The organization explains their reasoning for their decision "so that Americans can make up their own minds about allegations about the president-elect that have circulated at the highest levels of the US government."
It's important to keep attention on the fact that the 35-page document has not been verified as true. Therefore, this all may be a report full of shrugs and 'who knows?' And it's not rare for a bias view on Trump to override the concern with whether or not the dossier is even worth considering as news. If you hate the guy, you'll want to believe it, and vise versa. That's how news these days are given attention. If it's flashy, then it might not always have to be classy.
But this move by Buzzfeed has opened a lot of doors to the debate on journalism ethics and how the public feeds on it. Some may argue that it's a good thing that this story is out. Others are worried for how this may affect the value of journalism.
Only time can tell how this play will turn out. But for now, I strongly encourage you -- as a consumer of media -- to research and doubt until the absolute truth is confirmed.
