AP State Department Reporter Says Sensational Washington Post Claim On Tillerson Is 'Not True'

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson spends his first weeks isolated from an anxious bureaucracy https://t.co/zrnHfhgDcd

— Washington Post (@washingtonpost) March 31, 2017

Diplomats instructed to "avoid eye contact" with Tillerson: report https://t.co/InxRWhrnKU pic.twitter.com/Dis2UJHBOC

— The Hill (@thehill) March 31, 2017

This is not true and people repeating it are making it more difficult to address very real issues. https://t.co/ztEm3mAXd6

— Matt Lee (@APDiploWriter) March 31, 2017

Washington Free Beacon: AP Reporter Calls Out WaPo for False Rex Tillerson Story

The Washington Post reported on Thursday that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's political aides were instructed to avoid eye contact with him. The story was picked up by several news outlets, but was then refuted by an Associated Press reporter on Friday.

The Washington Post claimed that Tillerson has kept a tight-knit circle with his political aides, but has been slacking in his duties while being hard on his employees.

Most of his interactions are with an insular circle of political aides who are new to the State Department. Many career diplomats say they still have not met him, and some have been instructed not to speak to him directly — or even make eye contact.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: In today's Washington this is rare .... a main stream news organisation criticising and denouncing the reporting from another main stream news organisation. The post in question is from the Washington Post .... Secretary of State Rex Tillerson spends his first weeks isolated from an anxious bureaucracy (Washington Post) .... and when I read it I said to myself .... c'mon .... this is garbage. But .... it was covered extensively and treated as news. Now we know it is a bogus story, and in response we are now being told that the real fault lies with the US Secretary of State because he limits his press access .... Diplomats Say They Were Told Not to Make Eye Contact With Rex Tillerson (NYMag). If they can screw up this story .... you have to wonder how many stories are out there that are also false .... and more to the point .... how much of it is really fake news.