LAYERS AND LAYERS OF FACT-CHECKERS, PART 758: It’s not often that the left-biased Daily Beast tells readers about bad journalism produced by other left wing organizations, but Maxwell Tani did just that here.

“Since at least 2015, the Times has heard—and, in several cases, dismissed—warnings that Callimachi got stories wrong, questions about the legitimacy of her sourcing, and concerns about her treatment of sensitive source material. Now, revelations that one of Callimachi’s biggest stories may have been based on a hoax has resurfaced old warnings and questions that colleagues, experts, and sources previously raised about her reporting.”

Instapundit readers ought to be familiar with the problem of a “superstar” being seriously questioned, only to have The Times circle the wagons (s.o.p.) and “stand by her reporting.”

“If she told me it was sunny outside, I’d double check,” one senior Times journalist told The Daily Beast[…] A spokesperson for the Times defended Callimachi’s work on Wednesday evening, saying, “Rukmini is a brave and talented reporter whose body of work has shed new light on how ISIS functioned, attracted recruits, and stayed in power…”

Interestingly, Callamachi has published several stories damaging to the “conventional wisdom” of the left-wing media, so perhaps this is something of another editorial purge against reporters who (gasp!) seek out facts and editors who “platform” un-woke ideas. It will be interesting to see what The Times does here.