ProPublica faces backlash for journalism claim after email to Hegseth gets exposed

Left-wing nonprofit ProPublica is facing renewed scrutiny after an email exchange related to its recent unpublished story on Secretary of Defense nominee Pete Hegseth was released on Thursday.A media firestorm began earlier this week when Hegseth revealed on X that ProPublica, which he called a “Left Wing hack group” was planning to publish a “knowingly false report” that he was not accepted by West Point in 1999.Attached to the post was a photo of Hegseth’s acceptance letter signed by West Point Superintendent Lieutenant General Daniel Christman, U.S.

Army.ProPublica editor Jesse Eisinger responded to the post, explaining that West Point public affairs had told the outlet twice that Hegseth hadn’t applied.“We reached out,” Eisinger wrote.“Hegseth’s spox gave us his acceptance letter.

We didn’t publish a story.That’s journalism.”After intense criticism from conservatives online, with some questioning why ProPublica did not press West Point on the inaccurate information and publish a story on that aspect, Eisinger posted a lengthy X thread outlining the steps ProPublica had taken researching the story claiming and touting how they “care about accuracy” and being “intellectually honest” and had given Hegseth a “fair chance to respond to all of the salient facts in the story.”Questions about ProPublica’s journalistic standards intensified shortly afterward when Daily Caller published an email from reporter Justin Elliot reaching out to Hegseth’s lawyer, giving him an hour to respond to the allegation that he never went to West Point and asking, “Why did Mr.

Hegseth say he got into West Point when that is not true?”“How can Mr.Hegseth be Secretary of Defense given that he has made false statements about getting into the military’s most prestigious academy?” Elliot asked.That email drew the ire of many on social media, who took issue with the accusatory tone of the email and the small window to respond to suc...