A Wolff in wolf’s clothing: Trump tell-all book cannot be trusted
The US President has appointed his very own press watchdog — and it’s himself. Donald Trump on Twitter, Tuesday:
I will be announcing THE MOST DISHONEST & CORRUPT MEDIA AWARDS OF THE YEAR on Monday at 5:00 o’clock. Subjects will cover Dishonesty & Bad Reporting in various categories from the Fake News Media. Stay tuned!
And the frontrunner for this year’s Gold Fake News award? The Wall Street Journal, yesterday:
President Donald Trump publicly repudiated Steve Bannon, his former senior strategist and one-time campaign chief, after a new book surfaced in which Mr Bannon made scathing and highly personal criticisms of some of the president’s top advisers, including several family members.
Bannon says some very interesting things in Michael Wolff’s new book, Fire and Fury, yesterday:
Even if you thought that this (Donald Trump Jr meeting with a Russian lawyer during the election) was not treasonous, or unpatriotic … and I happen to think it’s all of that, you should have called the FBI …
But let’s look at the author himself. A report on Wolff’s book about the dotcom boom, Burn Rate, on Brill’s Content, October 1998:
… seven of the main characters and six others portrayed in — or familiar with — events in the book … say Wolff invented or changed quotes. And none of those quoted recalls Wolff taking notes or recording the discussions …
The New Republic’s profile on Wolff, August 30, 2004:
The scenes in his columns aren’t recreated so much as created — springing from Wolff’s imagination rather than from actual knowledge of events.
One bit of Wolff’s Trump book has already been debunked. Fire and Fury, yesterday:
(Roger) Ailes had a suggestion (for White House chief of staff): John Boehner, who had stepped down as Speaker of the house only a year earlier. “Who’s that?” asked Trump.
Trump did know Boehner. Politico, August 7, 2013:
Speaker John Boehner played golf with businessman and perennial presidential tease Donald Trump Tuesday in New Jersey.
Be very careful with Wolff’s explosive book on the Trump White House until it has been completely fact-checked. Slate, yesterday:
Wolff is notorious for making provocative claims without backing them up … he was once described by one of his own editors as having no skill greater than creating the “appearance” of knowing things he does not in fact know. So you might want to take Wednesday’s reports with a mogul-size grain of salt.
Meanwhile, Nigeria recently has appointed a new chairman for its Press Council. There’s only one problem. Nigerian online newspaper Newsmakers, December 30:
Senator Francis Okpozo died at 81, in 2016 … NewsmakersNG found that the late Okpozo has now been appointed as chairman of the NPC board.
The Australian Press Council has had its own problems with personnel. Report in The Australian, June 2 last year:
Politicians and journalists have baulked at the appointment of deputy chair (Carla McGrath) of the left-wing activist group Getup! to the Australian Press Council, describing it as “curious” and “disastrous”.