We read much about ‘fake news’ these days and of efforts to rid the internet of it. But what of media that report dodgy stories derived from ‘insiders’ and ‘government sources’ and ‘contacts’? The great Roman historian Tacitus knew what to make of such sources.
The first Roman emperor Augustus died in ad 14. It was a critical moment: who would succeed — Augustus’s grandson Postumus Agrippa, banished (by his wife Livia) or Tiberius, Livia’s son by her first marriage? Tacitus reported that Augustus and a companion, Fabius, arranged a reconciliation with Agrippa; that Fabius leaked and paid the price; and Livia at once recalled Tiberius from abroad, and then ‘saw to’ Augustus. The italicised words created the air of doubt and mystery:
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