>It doesn’t make a difference that it’s objectively true THAT he said so. But that's exactly the point I'm making. Until the appropriate legal authorities deci

>It doesn’t make a difference that it’s objectively true THAT he said so. But that's exactly the point I'm making. Until the appropriate legal authorities decide the issue the claim is not objectively "false" --no matter how obvious it seems to all of us, that that is the case. >If the statement itself is ... outright false, then a news source must either a) qualify it as untrue... What gives someone working at a news agency the right to decide what is true or false? Imagine if Reuters was reporting on a high profile murder trial and stated that the defendant "falsely claimed he hadn't committed the crime"? The defendant may have been caught holding a smoking gun, standing over the victim's body cackling evilly and twirling his moustacheos. But it's the jury and the court who decides whether or not the statements made by the defendant are true or false. It really doesn't fall within the remit of a self-professed 'unbiased' news agency to decide which statements made by which people are true and which are false. Just report what they said. If the statement in question is controversial or contested, then also report the counter arguments. But I really don't want to be told who I should believe and disbelieve. I'm capable of forming my own opinions. >Freedom from bias does not mean Reuters can engage in relaying quotes they themselves suspect are false Of course they can. News agencies relay conflicting quotes from opposing parties all the time, during wars, political debate, scientific discourse, etc. "Party A claims X but Party B refutes this and claims Y". That is exactly how an unbiased news agency should operate. Once they start reporting "Party A falsely claims X but Party B confirms Y" then they are no longer impartially reporting, but editorialising --no matter how much your hate for Party A and love for Party B predisposes you to see that as the 'objective truth'.