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He didn't name a single name. If he really believed this was so certain, he could have. Unless he's trying to make them do something, the only reason to keep names out of it is because he thinks this might be libel.


He doesn't need to expose himself to lawsuits by naming names. The names are pretty obvious to anyone in the field.


Yes, but that's the thing — you can't get sued for "obvious names." Even if he's completely making this up, if one of the obvious suspects sues him, he can just say, "Oh, no, I didn't mean him."

The comment I was replying to said, "his claims are laid out clearly without any weasel words. Either this is happening or it isn't." I disagree with that — Arrington is not laying it all out here as a black-and-white truth. He's consciously omitting facts in a way that happens to shield him from repercussions if this is false. As a traditional dead-tree newspaper guy, I'm very familiar with the ways reporters fudge their claims to avoid being responsible if it turns out to be crap. That's what this sounds like to me.


If he calls them felons and they wind up being acquitted for whatever reason, however technical or stupid, then he would be liable for libel.

He clearly wanted to avoid using weasel words. The only way to do that without being reckless is to not refer directly to the objects of the post.


"the only reason"

He did mention that they were his friends. Perhaps he wants to nip the illegal activity in the bud with as little collateral damage as possible.




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