New York Times: Sources: the US DOJ is probing whether ABC, CBS, CNN, NBC, and Fox News violated antitrust law by briefly suspending their White House pool coverage of Trump — Major TV networks were notified on Friday that the department was looking into whether they violated antitrust laws when they suspended pool coverage of President Trump.
Why is the term probing used instead of investigating?
An investigation would mean actually trying to learn about what happened and whether it violated any laws.
Probing means they poke it with a stick. They already know there’s nothing illegal about it, but they have to make their supporters think they’re doing something.
Really though, both words have the same meaning in this type of context. They’re used interchangeably quite a bit.
“They already know there’s nothing illegal about it, but they have to make their supporters think they’re doing something.”
Thanks for clarifying that so well. That’s something that flew over my head lol
“Probe” is not used by the DOJ, this is a journalistic term. Probably used because it’s shorter and zippier.
My guess is that an investigation is an official act that would have history and a paper trail. A probe can be swept away and hidden if you don’t like the answer. Or it could just be the way the author choose to frame it. Who knows with this administration?