The Right Way to Cover Hacks and Leaks Before the Election

A reporter stands in front of the US flag, with a camera screen in the foreground.

October 13, 2020

Garrett Graff
Director, Cybersecurity Programs

Trusted News Media

Media

It seems clear, with four years of hindsight, that the American news media owes John Podesta an apology. The political media did almost everything wrong in covering the theft-and-leak of his private emails amid the heat of the 2016 presidential campaign, four years ago today—and yet it’s not at all clear that if confronted by an operation similar to what Russian intelligence executed in targeting the Democratic National Committee via Hillary Clinton’s campaign chair, that we’d get it any more right now.

Keep Reading This Op-ed

Garrett Graff

Director, Cybersecurity Programs

Garrett M. Graff, a distinguished journalist and internationally bestselling historian, has spent nearly two decades covering politics, technology, and national security—helping to explain where we’ve been and where we’re headed.

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