The POTUS’ favorite opening line is ‘many people say…’

See anonymous sources didn’t used to be an issue. It was standard for actual journalists and respected publications to require multiple independent sources when they weren’t able to quote and name those sources. They would verify the information before reporting it.

That changed for a few reasons. One was propaganda becoming the reason for some organizations to exist at all. One was competition with small startups that would skip those ethical guidelines to scoop stories first, or without any verification. And of course in the mad dash to be first online and get those precious advertising revenue clicks.

Anonymous sources weren’t an issue because the actual journalist already did the due diligence to verify their reporting. That no longer can be trusted, so neither can those reports.