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It’s baffling how so many American news outlets have recited President Trump’s claims that his envoys are making “progress” at the talks with Iran, when in fact it turns out, time after time, that no such progress has been made.

The pattern underscores one of the most prominent, if undersung, media “biases”—the bias in favor of pushing a story forward. Few readers would even skim a story beneath the headline “Nothing New at Arms Talks Today.” And so when Donald Trump or Vice President J.D. Vance, who is heading up the talks, announces progress, news editors perk up.

A case could be made, of course, that words spoken by the president or vice president are inherently newsworthy, especially if they cover a big-news topic. But that doesn’t mean that reporters, editors, or headline scribes have to put those words up top, especially if they’re not true.

Take, for example, this New York Times lede on June 22: “Vice President JD Vance cast the first day of high-level negotiations with Iran as productive on Monday, saying the two sides had laid a ‘good........

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