One of the questions journalists frequently get asked is how we get people to tell us things, especially the things it would be in their best interest not to disclose. The simple answer is: “We ask.”
Most people will want to talk to you when you tell them you are doing a story, even if they probably shouldn’t. And asking simple, open-ended questions is by far the easiest way to gather information.
Remember this: Most people most of the time don’t want to lie.
But when they are ashamed or feeling guilty about something, they will lie compulsively.
So how do you tell when someone is lying? Well, one way is to ask questions about minor details of the person’s life. If you’ve done your homework you already know the answers to those types of questions.
Add them into the mix, because they should be easy for your subject to answer as long as he or she is being honest. But often people will lie about these little things because they’re working so hard to cover up big things.
One lie leads to another, so to speak.
All of this requires a certain amount of discipline on the journalist’s part. So you have to avoid falling into the trap of lying yourself. When I conduct journalism ethics seminars, one issue that often comes up is whether it is okay to misrepresent yourself in order to get a story.
I don’t think that it is okay. Working undercover, some journalists have uncovered huge scandals, but in my opinion that happens at the sacrifice of a greater goal. We are supposed to be about the truth — not just getting big stories — so if we get information by misrepresenting ourselves we are subverting one of the core values that legitimize our work.
It’s not that we have to be squeaky-clean in everything do as journalists — far from it — but if your story eventually ends up in court you have to be able to look the judge and jury in the eye and say you believe the information you gathered is accurate and that you gathered it in legitimate ways, not by subverting the truth yourself.
That doesn’t mean there aren’t tricks we can use ethically, like the “truth test” that I just described above. Trick someone into a lie and there’s a good chance you’ve discovered a liar.
That’s one small step in an elaborate process. But you still have to discover the truth. So just keep asking questions.
(“Reporter’s Notebook” is an occasional series based on my lectures over many years at Stanford, U-C Berkeley and San Francisco State.)
LINKS:
Trump wants classified documents trial delayed until after 2024 election (Politico)
Grand jurors who will consider Trump charges to be selected Tuesday (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
Christie: Trump goes to bed every night ‘thinking about the sound of the jail cell door closing’ (The Hill)
Biden declares emergency in flood-hit Vermont as Northeast braces for more rain (ABC)
Extreme heat wave reaches Arizona and swelters southern U.S. (WP)
The fight over working from home goes global (Economist)
Federal prosecutors unsealed charges against a think tank leader who claims he has incriminating information about President Joe Biden. The Justice Department said Gal Luft engaged in arms dealing and acted as an unregistered foreign agent of the People’s Republic of China. [HuffPost]
Biden lauds NATO deal to welcome Sweden, but he may get an earful from Zelenskyy about Ukraine's blocked bid (CBS)
Why Turkey changed its stance on Sweden’s NATO membership (Al Jazeera)
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Ukraine would get a "positive and strong message" on its path to membership, as leaders of the military alliance meet to discuss the fallout from Russia's invasion. (Reuters)
Branded content tools coming to Threads (Axios)
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Real Motive (Politico Mag)
Inside the AP’s investigation into the ethics practices of the Supreme Court justices (AP)
Ukraine’s head of military intelligence said Wagner fighters intended to acquire small Soviet-era nuclear devices in order to “raise the stakes” in their short-lived mutiny. The only barrier between them and nuclear weapons, he said, were the doors to the nuclear storage facility. [Reuters]
Bot or not? How to tell when you’re reading something written by AI (CNN)
Senate plans first-ever classified AI briefing (The Hill)
OECD says rich economies on cusp of AI ‘revolution’ (Financial Times)
The AI Boom Is Here. The Cloud May Not Be Ready. (WSJ)
Israeli protests return as Netanyahu restarts judicial overhaul (WP)
How AI will turbocharge misinformation — and what we can do about it (Axios)
Deep Sea Mining Isn't a Viable Climate Solution (Time)
Sinking cities: Climate change is warping the ground our cities are built on, study says (USA Today)
Scientists discover 36-million-year geological cycle that drives biodiversity (Phys.org)
Americans' attitudes toward marriage are changing rapidly (NPR)
At the All-Star Game, even the stars are in awe of Shohei Ohtani (WP)
Trade Baseball’s Best Player? It Really Could Happen (WSJ)
At Senate hearing, PGA Tour-Saudi emails show origins of LIV deal (WP)
Tucker Carlson May Be Losing His Relevance (Vanity Fair)
The Negro League revolutionized baseball – MLB's new rules are part of its legacy (NPR)
Amazon Prime Day Glitch Offers Controlling Stake In Company For $24.99 (The Onion)
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