More than 280 Wall Street Journal employees signed a letter to the paper's publisher asking for harsher scrutiny and more fact-checking in the WSJ opinion section. The letter cited examples of misinformation in a piece by Vice President Mike Pence about the second COVID-19 coronavirus wave, and "an erroneous conclusion" in a column about systemic police racism from Heather Mac Donald. The concern over the credibility of the outlet's opinion page follows similar scrutiny of the New York Times opinion section, which led to editor James Bennet resigning earlier this year, and purportedly influenced the departure of opinion writer Bari Weiss.
The news has not garnered significant media attention, with the majority of reports coming from left-rated outlets.
WSJ Reporters Call Out Misinformation and ‘Disregard For Evidence’ From Paper’s Opinion Section in Scathing Letter
Hundreds of journalists from the Wall Street Journal signed a letter this week criticizing the paper’s opinion section for spreading misinformation.
The stunning rebuke, signed by 280 staffers of the Journal and sent to the paper’s new publisher, calls for better fact-checking, more transparency, and a clearer divide between news and opinion divisions, according to a draft of the letter obtained by Mediaite.
Over 280 Wall Street Journal employees raise credibility concerns about opinion page
More than 280 journalists, editors and other employees at The Wall Street Journal sent a letter to their publisher expressing concerns about misinformation in the paper's opinion section.
The letter says that “opinion’s lack of fact-checking and transparency, and its apparent disregard for evidence, undermine our readers’ trust and our ability to gain credibility with sources.”
WSJ Employees to Publisher: Opinion Page Spreads Misinformation
Hundreds of Wall Street Journal employees signed a letter to the paper's publisher that ripped the outlet's Opinion section standards and called for better fact-checking.
Mediaite obtained a copy of the letter, which argued that the Opinion section is spreading misinformation and lies that could be corrected with some simple research.