I know Trumptards don't understand this, but there is a code of ethics in Journalism. No one who follows that code is posting an independent source without fact checking independently what the source is saying. Therefore, when considering whether an anonymous source or a source close to 'x', the entity that's reporting that is instructive as to whether or not we believe it. The NYT does not make shit up. It isn't fake news. They verify, they fact check, and they don't go with a story unless they are 100% confident that the story is accurate. When they make mistakes (and they do happen), their competition can't wait to hammer them on those mistakes. Brietbart does not hold itself to that standard. So claiming that those sources are just making things up is lazy and sloppy.