Quoting lies amounts to 'fake news'

I find your editorial series to have your readers support your position and fight against fake news because it is so important and that you pride yourself on wanting to publish only the facts, a curious position to take.

You state that "fake news doesn't become truth just because we want it to be so." Yet, if you write a news story and publish it in your paper, and the person you are quoting is lying, doesn't that then constitute publishing fake news?

As an example, on Page 2 on Dec. 28, you noted that State Department spokesman Mark Toner said that he "rejected Israeli allegations of conspiring against it, saying Egypt and the Palestinians drafted the resolution and the U.S. worked with them on the language only after the intention to go forward was clear." He admitted that the U.S. worked with them on the language of the resolution, but then abstained from the vote, which assured its passage

For the U.S. to act this way toward a longtime ally, is as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, "shameful." But for the Daily Herald to simply publish the statement from the State Department, which was an obvious obfuscation of the truth, is why so many people mistrust the media.

Start the fight against fake news in your own reporting of the news, and you may just have people believing in what you report. Until then, add me to the list of media skeptics.

Orlando Stratman

Lake Zurich