David Grann Quotes

I'm not a conspiracy theorist, I'm a conspiracy analyst.

The true facts are not always obvious. They often have to be looked for.

Scepticism is as important for a good journalist as it is for a good scientist.

In journalism it is simpler to sound off than it is to find out. It is more elegant to pontificate than it is to sweat.

You don’t have to be a paranoid to question the official explanation of things, although it helps …. There will always be more dots to connect.

A healthy skepticism, regularly exercised…

Journalists should recalibrate themselves to be more skeptical of the consensus of their peers. That’s because a position that seems to have deep backing from the evidence may really just be a reflection from the echo chamber. You should be looking toward how much evidence there is for a particular position as opposed to how many people hold that position: having 20 independent pieces of evidence that mostly point in the same direction might indeed reflect a powerful consensus, while having 20 like-minded people citing the same warmed-over evidence is much less powerful.

I see myself as more of a student, that I love to get down into the weeds of different problems and try to go through that. I don't mind messaging, but I'm going to default back to the research side of things.

I'm a reporter by nature and training. I like things that make sense.

You've accepted a lot of things without evidence. Find out what the evidence is for that. Find out what the evidence is for everything that you accept.

I don't believe in conspiracy theories. I'm just a cold-blooded investigator.

As a general rule, if you want to get at the truth - hear both sides and believe neither.

Most people, in fact, will not take the trouble in finding out the truth, but are much more inclined to accept the first story they hear.

When we come upon assurances that a mystery has been solved, we go on investigating.

I see men ordinarily more eager to discover a reason for things than to find out whether the things are so.

We have Internet now and people are not stupid. But it seems that some people are trying to push the same agenda of the Cold War of conspiracy theories and amazing achievements that are very easily traced and validated.

I think the mistake that people make often times is you just lose touch of reality and you have to never be afraid to call someone's bullshit or call someone's bluff when something doesn't make sense.

So often has my judgment deceived me in my life, that I always suspect it, right or wrong,--at least I am seldom hot upon cold subjects. For all this, I reverence truth as much as any body; andif a man will but take me by the hand, and go quietly and search for itI'll go to the world's end with him:MBut I hate disputes.

Let us hear the suspicions. I will look after the proofs.

To avoid being drawn into error, keep a firm grip on the truth.

Never take anything at face value. Dare to question and seek the truth.

As a citizen, you have a duty to ask what is true and what is false.

Test everything, including assumptions

The best defence against bullshit is vigilance. So if you smell something, say something.

Part of what we have to do a better job of, if our democracy is to function in a complicated diverse society like this, is to teach our kids enough critical thinking to be able to sort out what is true and what is false, what is contestable and what is incontestable. And we seem to have trouble with that. And our political system doesn't help.