The notionally accurate NY Times
This tweet is not the way to respond to accusations of “fake news”.
Maggie Haberman is the White House reporter for the NY Times. Perhaps she does not know what the word “notional” means – or, she is advocating fake news is fine as long as meets (her) imaginary world view.
From Dictionary.com:
- pertaining to or expressing a notion or idea.
- of the nature of a notion or idea: a notional response to the question.
- abstract, theoretical, or speculative, as reflective thought.
- not real or actual; ideal or imaginary: to create a notional world for oneself.
- given to or full of foolish or fanciful ideas or moods.
In other words, Haberman is saying that though it is false, it meets our imaginary idea of what we want it to be, therefore, it is true.
It is perplexing why the media does this to itself. I do not think Orwell intended his novel “1984” to be a “how-to” guide for the NY Times.