NPR reported there was a dispute in the Supreme Court over masks — that Roberts asked Gorsuch to wear one for Sotomayor’s sake, Gorsuch refused, so Sotomayor attended oral arguments from her chambers.
Roberts, Sotomayor and Gorsuch have denied the story, but NPR refuses to correct it.
I’m not interested in whether they had a disagreement over masks, but I am interested in how people react to this. Who is more trustworthy, and why?
I think I’ll trust who is willing to go on record.
Too much reporting these days relying on unnamed sources not willing to go on record. (maybe it’s always been this way?)
That’s a reasonable standard, and I agree there’s too much anonymous source stuff.
Allegedly, Sotomayor’s direct mask ask of Gorsuch wasn’t in the NPR story. So, the joint response from Sotomayor and Gorsuch was curious when they said, “Reporting that Justice Sotomayor asked Justice Gorsuch to wear a mask surprised us. It is false…” Yet, Roberts later stated. “I did not request Justice Gorsuch or any other Justice to wear a mask on the bench.” NPR, later the same day as the original story, changed the word “asked” to “suggested” in the sentence, “So Chief Justice John Roberts, understanding that, in some form or other, suggested that the other justices mask up.”
What we know for certain is that at the time in question all the present justices were masked except Gorsuch (they had not been previously wearing masks for some period of time) and Sotomayor participated remotely and typically sits next to Gorsuch. Beyond that, the devil is in the details. We’re dealing with lawyers and the media that uses words in ways that give themselves wiggle room. In reviewing all the statements and circumstances, there seems to be inaccuracies on both sides of the equation. NPR’s story hadn’t claimed Sotomayor directly asked Gorsuch to wear a mask. So, why was the joint response worded as if they did? Yet, NPR’s wording was either misleading or incorrect relative to Roberts’ actions.
“We’re dealing with lawyers and the media that uses words in ways that give themselves wiggle room. ”
Yes, I was thinking the same. These are people who know how to mislead you without telling a lie.
QUOTE: Yes, I was thinking the same. These are people who know how to mislead you without telling a lie.
In this case, I’m not sure we know enough detail to determine which side is more reliable, given they each have the ability and history of creating narratives that supports their interests.