Breaking news: Anybody can say anything about anybody else. And in the age of social media, they probably will.
Time was when all professional journalists understood that. Not that there was ever a Golden Age of what Superman called “Truth, Justice and the American Way.”
Anyway, does it really matter anymore what journalists understand?
Social media have blurred the lines between fact, fiction and sheer, malicious slander to the point where a large portion of the public feels free to indulge any venomous fantasy that suits them.