[nonrandomstring]

There's a spectrum isn't there, between weasel words that are avoidant and non-attribution which is done out of respect or kindness. News is full of passive prose; "A source claimed yesterday", because anonymous sources need protection. A barrister might say in court; "It has been said that...", not to invite libel or misidentify a witness. Or a teacher might say "It's been brought to our attention that some children..." not to embarrass a kid in front of everyone.

[aspenmayer]

These are good points. Here are some links I found relating to legitimate points you have raised:

Why does The New York Times use anonymous sources? https://www.nytimes.com/article/why-new-york-times-anonymous...

A Look at Journalists' Use of Anonymous Sources https://www.voanews.com/amp/journalists-use-anonymous-source...

Society of Professional Journalists Ethics Committee Position Papers: Anonymous Sources https://www.spj.org/ethics-papers-anonymity.asp

Everything-but-the-kitchen-sink: a guide to confidential sources https://ethics.journalism.wisc.edu/2018/12/07/the-everything...

https://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Wikinews:Avoid_weasel_words

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Avoid_peacock_terms

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Word...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puffery