The New York Times is arguing that old posts on Twitter and other social media websites shouldn’t be used against journalists after a top editor at the paper was spoken to regarding a string of tweets that some found antisemitic.
Reporters for the paper also cited the CNN photographic editor who resigned after old tweets showing him calling Jews “pigs” and Israel “the main enemy for the people of Egypt.”
The Times claimed that allies of President Donald Trump have compiled a database of past statements and social media posts of journalists.
Arthur Schwartz, the Donald Trump Jr. ally, indicated as much on Twitter after the Times didn’t take action against its editor for the controversial missives that the paper admitted were “a clear violation of our standards.” “If the @nytimes thinks this settles the matter we can expose a few of their other bigots,” he wrote. “Lots more where this came from.”
The White House and Trump campaign said it wasn’t involved in the operation, but suggested that exposing journalists who said things they would report others for is fair game.
https://twitter.com/ArthurSchwartz/status/1164592515464531971?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
“Two can play at this game,” added Sam Nunberg, a former Trump aide. “The media has long targeted Republicans with deep dives into their social media, looking to caricature all conservatives and Trump voters as racists.”
That’s when the reporters wrote that people “using journalistic techniques to target journalists and news organizations as retribution for—or as a warning not to pursue—coverage critical of the president is fundamentally different from the well-established role of the news media in scrutinizing people in positions of power.” It later noted that Media Matters for America has been targeting conservatives for years using the same methods.
A. G. Sulzberger, the publisher of the paper, sent a statement to the reporters complaining about the techniques.
Media critics exploded after the article was published, noting media outlets have been using the techniques not only to scrutinize people in power, but dox Trump supporters and ambush old women at their houses.
Outlets have also targeted athletes, activists, and celebrities for social media posts they’ve made when they were teenagers.
“Still can’t get over the absurdity of major outlets clutching their pearls about the consequences of disclosing public figures’ old tweets, as if their stories about ‘unearthed tweets’ were only limited to grave matters of public interest,” wrote James Hasson, an attorney who frequently criticizes the media on Twitter.
