Read between the lines

Well done to the Daily Mail for bullying NewsGuard into backing down and giving Mail Online a symbolic green shield of approval. However, NewsGuard's comment that the site "generally maintains basic standards of accuracy and accountability" is hardly a ringing endorsement. Among the failings that the anonymous "Daily Mail executive" couldn't get NewsGuard to ignore are the failure "to gather and present information responsibly" and the failure "to handle the difference between news and opinion".

Perhaps, rather than piling on the pressure until they got their way, those behind the site might actually have taken the time and trouble to consider the grounds for the original negative rating and then sought to address them constructively.