Following the money is a useful investigative method, but it’s not conclusive in cases like this.
Say a journalist gets their work printed in a few publications and does some podcasting that brings in additional money. If one of those publications gets some nefarious federal dollars, how much impact does that have on the journalist’s work?
It has the impact of subsidizing someone who is shilling for the government. Don’t resort to quantum theory because they just happen to play on your sympathies
“Quantum theory” is calling someone a fed because one of the outlets they get published in at some point got money from some federal organization. That’s ridiculous, and copjacketing is a real problem. You have to have a stronger connection before you levy that sort of accusation at someone.
Say the National Endowment for Democracy is a minority shareholder in the Washington Post. Is every WaPo journalist now a fed?
