Journalistic malpractice is rampant. This writer should be ashamed to take home a paycheck.
Maybe ! Maybe the author knows unless he\she uses certain “code words” it will never get past the editor and his\her work won’t be published. Also the editor could have “improved the article” by “editing” and stuck it in.
Maybe they are so deep in the illusion they cannot see the contradiction.
Ashamed? Yes. However the author knows they must write the story this way if they wish to get a paycheck.