Game theory applies here. There will always be one journalist without any moral qualms that’ll stay, betting on everyone else leaving, and making a scoop.
They’re outed as stooges. That doesn’t matter to the influencer crowd. But I bet this costs the DoD a lot of narrative-shaping power.
A significant fraction of Americans are addicted to rage bait. They don’t care about accuracy as much as entertainment and ideological predictability.
Known lies can still be effective.
The chances of making that via a White House press conference is pretty close to zero.
Rely on traditional trade craft. A bouncing bevy of brothel, escort service, deepthroats; historically and dramatized, is a staid and proven primary source.
But in this other case, well there's just no value to reporting garbage.