‘I’m Sorry’: Journalist Matt Taibbi Apologizes for Repeatedly Telling Readers Russia Would Not Invade Ukraine
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Journalist, author, and podcaster Matt Taibbi has apologized after he assured his readers, listeners and Twitter followers that Russia would not invade Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered troops into the country on Thursday, beginning a conflict that is sure to scar a generation and potentially destabilize the region — and maybe the globe.
U.S. intelligence indicated weeks ago it was all but a given that Russia’s military was coiled up and ready to strike its former Soviet republic neighbor.
Taibbi was among those who did not believe much of what was reported. He repeatedly opined that the intelligence community, the media, and government officials were engaged in fear-mongering:
He’s not the one who put the February 16th date out there – the U.S. did, in news outlets all over the world. Zelensky was not at fault, he was trying to amp tensions down by making a joke of it. https://t.co/ubeqa3yt0O
— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) February 17, 2022
Zelensky “had to clarify” he was kidding only because he’d severely underestimated the levels of vainglorious stupidity and humorlessness among American pols, reporters, and investors (who sent markets tumbling in the belief he’d confirmed an invasion): https://t.co/Td8WLqovcc
— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) February 17, 2022
It looks like foreign allies are more resentful of being used to deliver unsourced “information warfare” claims than our own supposedly independent reporters. https://t.co/waYGR5I1X8
— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) February 20, 2022
The news outlets that published that baseless and embarrassingly incorrect invasion prediction gave Putin a big international PR win last week. And I’m the one carrying water for him? https://t.co/VNh4m12bp4
— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) February 20, 2022
On his Substack newsletter Thursday, Taibbi offered an apology.
“Part of news and even commentary is admitting mistakes, and though I always made sure when discussing the subject to note Vladimir Putin could still invade Ukraine, I have to admit, I didn’t see this happening,” he wrote.”
Taibbi, who spent much of his career in Russia, before he eventually ended up writing for Rolling Stone, continued,
Some old colleagues I trust, including some Putin-critical Russians, didn’t see it, either, but in many cases they just didn’t want to believe it, for reasons that are more understandable from their perspective. My mistake was more like reverse chauvinism, being so fixated on Western misbehavior that I didn’t bother to take this possibility seriously enough. To readers who trust me not to make those misjudgments, I’m sorry.
Taibbi added, “Obviously, Putin’s invasion will have horrific consequences for years to come and massively destabilize the world.”
He concluded on Twitter Thursday when conversing with a critic that he still believes in a healthy skepticism of government claims.
It’s still true that when anonymous government sources tell you something without telling you the basis or source, you can’t just run it. The Europeans, and Zelensky, were suggesting even they hadn’t been shown evidence. https://t.co/F9hp8Me23V
— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) February 24, 2022
