Wall Street Journal reporters say it's 'very disappointing' opinion page published Trump's 'misinformation'


The Wall Street Journal's decision to run a lengthy letter to the editor from former President Donald Trump containing falsehoods about the 2020 election didn't go over well with many of the newspaper's reporters.
CNN's Brian Stelter spoke to several journalists who weren't entirely surprised that the conservative opinion section — which is separate from the Journal's newsroom — ran Trump's letter as is. "I think it's very disappointing that our opinion section continues to publish misinformation that our news side works so hard to debunk," one reporter told Stelter. "They should hold themselves to the same standards we do."
In July 2020, after the opinion page ran an editorial by former Vice President Mike Pence under the headline "There Isn't a Coronavirus 'Second Wave,'" more then 300 members of the Journal's staff signed a letter to publisher Almar Latour sharing their concerns over the opinion page's "lack of fact-checking and transparency," saying its "apparent disregard for evidence undermine[s] our readers' trust and our ability to gain credibility with sources."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Critics' choice: 2025 James Beard Award winners
Feature Featuring a casually elegant restaurant, recipes nearly lost to war, and more
-
How will Trump's spending bill impact student loans?
the explainer Here's what the Republicans' domestic policy bill means for current and former students
-
Can the US economy survive Trump's copper tariffs?
Today's Big Question The price hike 'could upend' the costs of cars, houses and appliances
-
Judge nixes wiping medical debt from credit checks
Speed Read Medical debt can now be included in credit reports
-
Grijalva wins Democratic special primary for Arizona
Speed Read She will go up against Republican nominee Daniel Butierez to fill the US House seat her father held until his death earlier this year
-
US inflation jumps as Trump tariffs 'bite'
Speed Read Consumer prices are climbing and the inflation rate rose to its highest level in four months
-
Melania Trump's intervention on Ukraine
In The Spotlight The first lady has been linked to the president's U-turn on sending arms to Kyiv
-
SCOTUS greenlights mass DOE firings
Speed Read The Supreme Court will allow the Trump administration to further shrink the Education Department
-
Cuomo announces third-party run for NYC mayor
Speed Read He will go up against progressive Democratic powerhouse Zohran Mamdani and incumbent Mayor Eric Adams
-
Big, beautiful bill: Supercharging ICE
Feature With billions in new funding, ICE is set to expand its force of agents and build detention camps capable of holding more than 100,000 people
-
Deportations: Citizens could be next
Feature the Trump is expanding denaturalization efforts, targeting naturalized citizens and birthright citizenship