The flip side is that on a story this big, they shouldn't publish if they won't be able to burn their sources if it turns out they're being played. If a source

The flip side is that on a story this big, they shouldn't publish if they won't be able to burn their sources if it turns out they're being played. If a source is too valuable to challenge, they're not worth enough to publish. Spin is one thing, outright lies is another.