> > We understand that nearly everyone who provides material to a reporter is doing so in ways that reflect their worldview, agenda or biases. We have long held that those motives are irrelevant if the information is reliable.
> This is an … insane statement? — both rationally and morally. Truth can't ever be a sole criteria for publishing. It's necessary, but not sufficient. To suggest otherwise ought to flunk someone out of first year journalism school.
This is a misinterpretation of the quoted text. Propublica says that the motive of the source is not part of the set of criteria for publishing (unless it the information is unreliable), not that reliability is the sole criterion for publishing. Propublica's article explicitly says that privacy is a legitimate concern. "One of the billionaires mentioned in this article objected, arguing that publishing personal tax information is a violation of privacy. We have concluded that the public interest in knowing this information at this pivotal moment outweighs that legitimate concern."