A public editor, also known as an ombudsman or readers' advocate, is a position at some news organizations who is responsible for ensuring that the publication adheres to high journalistic standards. This role involves acting as a liaison between the newsroom and the public, addressing reader concerns, and critiquing the publication's coverage to maintain transparency and trust.

In 2013, The Washington Post eliminated its ombudsmanin favor of a reader representative who acted more like a public relations representative until 2024 when she quietly leftand wasn't replaced.

In 2017, The New York Times announced that it was firing it's Public Editor because it could now rely on its readers and social media to hold it accountable in the same way a Public Editor would do.Widely seen as a mistakeby the people now serving in the role of Public Editor, the New York Times ignored the criticism.

Today, nearly all Press institutions in the US now claim to rely on social media to provide the public editor service.

This site is a collection of social posts doing that work. It provides clear examples of where The Press is not holding to journalistic standards. It aims to criticize in the hope that The Press can improve.

A non-exhaustive list of the types of examples often seen:

• Spreading propaganda by acting as stenographers and not questioning what authorities say
• Failing to contextualize an event to the extent that they fail to properly explain the event
• Creating false balance in order to appear neutral when a debate is in actuality unbalanced.
• Citing polls or themselves to claim public opinion believes something that they very much could change public opinion on
• Using weasel words that obscure or normalize radical behavior
• Appeasing authorities instead of holding them accountable

You're welcome to contribute by posting on Mastodon or Bluesky with the hashtag #brokenpress (we also look for #brokenpost or #brokentimesfor examples specific to The Washington Post and The New York Times respectively).

For questions, feedback, or concerns, please contact us at contact@brokenpress.org.