Sanctions
Did Iran Sanctions Embolden the Revolutionary Guard?
Megan Reiss Fri, Nov 3, 2017, 9:30 AM
A case study in assessing the benefit of sanctions.
Latest in Media Criticism
China
President Trump, Guo Wengui and an Odd Series of Events
Garrett Hinck Mon, Oct 23, 2017, 2:00 PM
A mysterious string of events related to Chinese billionaire Guo Wengui raises more questions than answers.
North Korea
The New York Times Misleads on North Korean Cyber Operations
Megan Reiss Fri, Oct 20, 2017, 11:15 AM
The Times’ recent story on North Korean cyber operations makes a bold, if not deceptive, claim.
Secrecy: Press Behavior
Jack Goldsmith's Interview With Dean Baquet, Executive Editor of the New York Times, on Publication Decisions About Intelligence Secrets
Jack Goldsmith Mon, Jul 24, 2017, 11:55 AM
In light of CIA Director Mike Pompeo's criticism of the New York Times' publication of a CIA officer's identity, we are reposting Jack Goldsmith's 2015 interview of Times executive editor Dean Baquet on the paper's publication of sensitive information.
Sextortion
Sextortion as Dystopia: About That Black Mirror Episode
Quinta Jurecic Mon, Oct 24, 2016, 12:00 PM
A new episode of the television show Black Mirror brings sextortion to the small screen.
Media Criticism
How I Spent My Weekend: Picking a Fight with Sean Hannity
Benjamin Wittes Mon, Oct 24, 2016, 10:11 AM
It wasn't okay when the Left drank the Wikileaks KoolAid, and it's not okay when the Trumpist Right does it either.
Media Criticism
Holding Off on that Yahoo Email Story
Benjamin Wittes Thu, Oct 6, 2016, 1:14 PM
I have very little sense of what really happened between the government, Yahoo and the FISA court. So I'm going to wait to have an opinion until I actually know something. So should everyone else.
Media Criticism
In Defense of the Washington Post's Much Maligned Snowden Editorial
Benjamin Wittes Wed, Sep 21, 2016, 5:59 PM
The Washington Post editorial page has no institutional duty whatsoever to defend a source simply because the news side won a Pulitzer based on his criminality. The editorial staff is not tasked with deciding whether or not to publish Snowden documents. The news staff is not tasked with opining on whether Snowden should get a pardon.
Media Criticism
In Defense of Jim Comey: Politico's Bizarrely Shoddy Attack on the FBI Director
Benjamin Wittes Wed, Sep 14, 2016, 8:06 PM
An astonishingly bad piece appeared in Politico this week attacking FBI Director James Comey. The thesis is bold. The evidence is shockingly weak. Critical history and information is left out. Quotations are seemingly intentionally distorted. And important information in the story is just wrong.
Media Criticism
A Moment of Zen: The New York Times Editorial Page Cites Lawfare as an Authority
Benjamin Wittes Wed, Jul 6, 2016, 9:20 AM
Since the New York Times editorial page has apparently now decided that I have impeccable judgment on matters of law and national security, I have a bunch of other Lawfare posts for the editorial page staff there to read: my many posts on factual errors in the Times editorial page's Guantanamo coverage.