The New York Times was used by the State Department to get a favorable story in the newspaper about John Kerry's speech on the Obama administration's Mideast peace plan, the Washington Examiner reports.
"A senior State Department official said that Mr. Kerry… would use his remarks to "address some of the misleading critiques" directed at the Obama administration. That was a clear reference to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, who has charged that the United States ‘orchestrated' a United Nations Security Council resolution last week condemning Israel's continued building of settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem," the Times reported.
"The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, …said Mr. Kerry would also argue that, with the notable exception of Israel, there was a "complete international consensus" against further settlements in areas that might ultimately be the subject of negotiations."
The Examiner notes the article goes on to claim it is unclear what Kerry hoped to achieve from the speech and quotes additional anonymous sources.
"Did the Times not ask anonymous sources for that information?" the Examiner asks. "Were the paper's nameless sources only willing to discuss things that paint the State Department in a positive light?"
The website notes the Times story "does little more than float Kerry's…speech to test for reactions."
The Examiner acknowledges there are times to grant sources anonymity so they can provide information without retaliation.
"This Kerry articles does not really seem to justify that," the Examiner notes.
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