Journalists should absolutely fact-check the claims they put in their articles. If they don't, you end up with a president like Trump, shamelessly lying anytime he speaks, and no one to counter his obvious lies. This, is journalism malpractice in my book.
Not saying Reuters does a particularly bad job at that btw.
Sure, but that isn't a claim the journalist put in the article, it's a quote from a government official, the journalist is reporting on what the person said. Editing or hiding quotes because you don't agree with it, feels more like journalism malpractice than letting quotes be unedited.
Not saying Reuters does a particularly bad job at that btw.