Anonymously, pretty wild
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/05/opinion/trump-white-house-anonymous-resistance.html?action=click&module=Opinion&pgtype=Homepage
The Times today is taking the rare step of publishing an anonymous Op-Ed essay. We have done so at the request of the author, a senior official in the Trump administration whose identity is known to us and whose job would be jeopardized by its disclosure. We believe publishing this essay anonymously is
Ah, but it wasn't a story. It was an opinion piece. Published under the op-ed banner for a reason.
You can make those up all day long. Worst they could be accused of is making up a source - which is still pretty bad, but not as bad as making up news.