Non-denial denial

Non-denial denial is a statement that seems direct, clearcut and unambiguous at first hearing, but when carefully parsed is revealed not to be a denial at all, and is thus not untruthful. It is a case in which words that are literally true are used to convey a false impression; analysis of whether or when such behavior constitutes lying is a long-standing issue in ethics. London's newspaper The Sunday Times has defined it as "an on-the-record statement, usually made by a politician, repudiating a journalist's story, but in such a way as to leave open the possibility that it is actually true."^[1]

Origin and history of the phrase

The Washington Post editor Benjamin C. Bradlee "is credited with coining the phrase non-denial denial to characterise the evasive Oval Office answers to questions," according to a 1991 retrospective on Bradlee's career in The Times.^[2]

The phrase was popularized during the Watergate scandal by Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein in their 1974 book All the President's Men, in reference to evasive statements and equivocal denials by then-Attorney General John N. Mitchell.^[3]

William Goldman's screenplay for the 1976 film adaptation put the phrase into the mouth of Ben Bradlee and used it to dramatic purpose. The Bradlee character looks at some White House releases and comments "All non-denial denials. We're dirty, guys, and they doubt we were ever virgins, but they don't say the story is inaccurate." Later, Bradlee worries about the accuracy of a story and asks the reporters "That didn't sound to me like a non-denial denial. Could you have been wrong?" But when other editors suggest that the paper needs to back down, Bradlee writes a note that says "We stand by our story," which he calls "My non-denial denial"; then he adds, "Fuck it, we'll stand by the boys."

A 1976 newspaper article called an Olympic official's statement on blood doping "a non-denial denial, a Watergate denial", ^[4] an assessment of Ron Ziegler's career dubbed him "the non-denial denier" and placed his tenure as White House Press Secretary in "the Alice-in-Wonderland era that spawned the form of official evasion that came to be known as the non-denial denial."^[5]

Types

• Characterizing a statement as "ridiculous" or "absurd" without saying specifically that it is not true;
• Saying "We are not going to dignify [that] with a response;"
• Impugning the general reliability of a source (e.g. Mitchell, "The so-called sources of the Washington Post are a fountain of misinformation") without addressing the particular fact alleged by the source.
• Denying a more specific version of events than that which was actually alleged. For example, for an allegation of corruption, saying "I have never received any money from anyone in the party" when an exchange of goods took place; or denying that a company is about to lay off 500 people, and then going on to lay off 400.
• The speaker stating that they have "no recollection" or "cannot remember" an event having taken place, giving the impression that it did not take place at all. Should they later be confronted with evidence that it did indeed happen, they can always take refuge in claiming that their memory failed them, since there is no wholly objective way anyone can ever prove or disprove this.

Examples

Bill Clinton

BBC Magazine^[6] cites a 1998 statement "I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky," by U.S. President Bill Clinton, made during the Monica Lewinsky scandal, as a "non-denial denial."

Tony Blair

Another example, characterized by the BBC as a "non-denial denial," was provided by Tony Blair, who was interviewed in 1997, just before the general election, by the British newspaper Evening Standard. The question was: "Will Labour introduce tuition fees for higher education?" Blair's answer was: "Labour has no plans to introduce tuition fees for higher education." No plans does not mean no tuition fees. The Labour Party used the same ambiguous wording in its manifesto for the election in 2001, writing: "We will not introduce 'top-up' fees and have legislated to prevent them." The increase of university fees up to £3000 was voted for before the next election in 2005 but implemented in 2006. Therefore the British government explained that the manifesto in 2001 was only valid for the period up to the election in 2005.^[6]

Mark McGwire

Investigative journalists Lance Williams and Mark Fainaru-Wada used the phrase in their 2006 book Game of Shadows to characterize an ambiguous response by retired Major League Baseball star Mark McGwire during a Congressional hearing on steroids in baseball:

“

McGwire turned evasive. He had nothing to say about anything. Pressed about whether he had used performance-enhancing drugs, he responded over and over again, "I'm not here to talk about the past." The refrain became so pathetic and predictable that McGwire was mocked by some of the politicians, while the audience chuckled each time he uttered his non-denial denial.[7]

”

See also

Journalism portal

• Denial
• Non-apology apology
• Sound bite
• Shermanesque statement
• Anthony Weiner

References

1. ^ Harris, Robert (1996), "Denials can't hide undeniable truth. Sunday Times of London, September 15, 1996
2. ^ "Editor Bradlee bows out to a living obituary; Benjamin Bradlee." The Times, June 22, 1991
3. ^ Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward (1974). All the President's Men. Simon and Schuster. SBN 671-21781-X, chapter 5, p. 92. 
4. ^ Anderson, Dave (1976), "The Blood Scandal;" The New York Times, August 1, 1976, p. 139
5. ^ Purdum, Todd S. (2003), "The Nondenial Denier," The New York Times, February 16, 2003, p. WK5
6. ^ ^{a b} "When is a denial not a denial?". BBC News. April 19, 2007. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/6570941.stm. Retrieved 2007-07-17. 
7. ^ Mark Fainaru-Wada, Lance Williams (2006). Game of Shadows: Barry Bonds, BALCO, and the Steroids Scandal that Rocked Professional Sports. Gotham. ISBN 978-1592401994. , p. 254

External links

• Definition of lie, American Heritage Dictionary, 4th edition, 2000