Part 4/8:
Instead of engaging directly with ProPublica, Heth took to social media platform X (formerly Twitter) to share his acceptance letter from West Point publicly. This immediate response put ProPublica on the defensive, prompting them to insist that they had simply been performing their journalistic duties. They claimed that after Heth's tweet, they decided to stand down from the story, signifying that this was a standard part of reporting.
However, commentators on both sides of the political divide expressed skepticism about ProPublica’s motives. The general consensus among Heth’s defenders was that his achievements—having been accepted into Princeton University and serving multiple combat tours—made the allegations seem baseless and unfounded.