About this time, Trump is beginning to get pounded mercilessly in the media for saying “all Mexicans are rapists.” Except he never said that. The widespread mischaracterization of his words is stunning from my viewpoint as a traditional journalist.

A lie will gallop halfway round the world before the truth has time to pull its breeches on. —CORDELL HULL, secretary of state to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Twitter likes facts, data, a hot quote, a news break—the more urgent, the better.

The news organizations may be guilty of not checking facts carefully enough.