A former writer for the New York Times criticizes the media's reporting on Russiagate in anticipation of the release of the Durham Report.

Jim Gerth, a former journalist for the New York Times, was proven right in his harsh criticism of the mainstream media's coverage of the Trump-Russia investigation after the release of Special Counsel John Durham's report. Gerth had previously written an article for the Columbia Journalism Review, which analyzed the role of various news organizations in promoting the Russiagate narrative. Gerth emphasized that it was not one specific story, but rather the collective impact of all the flawed reporting that was most significant.
According to Gerth, the media has been reporting on two aspects of Russiagate: Russia's interference in the 2016 election and alleged connections between Russia and the Trump campaign. He believes that news organizations have combined these two strands, even though they are not as strong when viewed separately. Gerth criticized his former employer, the Times, for publishing a report in 2017 that alleged contacts between the Trump campaign and Russian intelligence officials, citing pushback from former FBI Director Jim Comey and questioning the Times' sources. He also criticized the media's inconsistent coverage of the Russia probe and the Steele dossier, noting that many outlets did not report on these issues before the 2016 election but did so afterwards.
Trump has stated that Comey and the Democrats should face severe consequences following the release of the Durham report. Gerth explained that news organizations relied on Fusion GPS and Christopher Steele, a former MI6 spy in the UK, as sources.
The news organizations kept the source of the information confidential and did not disclose any details about the relationship. This led to extreme reactions from readers, ranging from the belief that a potential US president was a Kremlin agent to the idea that the information was false and funded by the Hillary Clinton campaign and the DNC.
We are unable to document any of the aspects within that particular range of frequencies.
The report by Durham, which is 306 pages long, claimed that the FBI and DOJ deviated from their own protocols by initiating "Crossfire Hurricane" based on unprocessed, unverified intelligence. The report also stated that they could simply present the remarkable discoveries.