Have you noticed that an increasing number of news items are covering themselves by referencing the source – in the headline? My theory is that the Trump administration has brought in so much chaos, prevarication, and failures in fact-checking that trust in sources is declining dramatically. For example, 20 May 2025 Financial Times headline is ‘Trump says Russia-Ukraine talks to start’.

And it is spilling over to coverage of other politicians. In Britain, on the same day as ‘Trump says’, the Guardian includes ‘Starmer says’ and ‘Rachel Reeves says’. I find this to be an honest, straightforward way to report something clearly, while still not vouching for the truth of the claim or statement – its authenticity, particularly when it may be impossible to validate. It might be false, it might not happen, but that is certainly what the person said!

Trump said this, Putin said that. Who knows?

Americans might also be amused by the degree that Trump speeches, when presented live in the UK, are most often followed by fact-checking, pointing out incorrect, doubtful, and false claims. Sadly, journalists are learning how to deal with what might be a higher level of uncertainty surrounding the stories of politicians, led by Donald Trump and his administration.

Is this a new technique? Just saying,

Bill