NYT Explains Why It Published Something Truthful

The New York Times has become such an arm of Democrat propaganda that the paper faced reader backlash after running a piece that reflected poorly on socialist mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani. The backlash was enough that the paper felt the need to explain to its readers why it did a little bit of journalism.

The Times ran a piece on Thursday revealing Mamdani identified himself as African American and Asian on a college application to Columbia University — details Mamdani himself did not dispute. Mamdani told the Times he did not consider himself “Black or African American, but rather an ‘American who was born in Africa.’” He said he checked multiple boxes to try and “capture the fullness of [his] background.” Although Mamdani ultimately was not accepted into the university where his dad was a professor, Columbia University was using “race-conscious affirmative action admissions program at the time,” NYT reported.

“Reporting that his race was Black or African American in addition to Asian could have given an advantage to Mr. Mamdani, who was born in Uganda and spent his earliest years there,” the report continues.

Readers bashed the NYT’s piece, questioning the decision to publish it. One commenter called it “insanely low, racist, and desperate.” Another said the headline reinforced potential “bias” toward Mamdani. 

The piece also sparked internal backlash. Jamelle Bouie, a NYT writer, criticized the original article and said one of the authors, his co-worker Benjamin Ryan, has “little to no actual brain activity” in a social media post. Bouie later took the post down, according to Fox News.

Patrick Healy, the NYT assistant managing editor for Standards and Trusts, rushed to address the leftist “reader feedback” in an X statement on July 4. He claimed the NYT has for decades done “deep reporting on major party nominees for New York’s mayor” and “[t]he purpose of this story was to help illuminate the thinking and background of a major mayoral candidate.”

Leftist political commentator Keith Olbermann responded to Healy’s statement, accusing the NYT of “campaigning against Mamdani.”

The executive editor of the NYT, Joe Kahn, praised the reporting on Monday, Fox News reported.

The article was apparently rushed to print to beat journalist Christopher Rufo to the scoop.

The Times updated the piece on July 4 to essentially call the admissions data cited in the report into question by noting Columbia University “has not validated the information” — even though Mamdani confirmed checking both boxes in the application.

That same day, the NYT also published a separate article with a headline posing the question: “Mamdani Once Claimed to Be Asian and African American. Should It Matter?”

NYT received almost $225,000 from Democrats and about $3,500 from Republicans in 2024, according to Open Secrets. In 2024, the NYT’s editorial board endorsed Kamala Harris for president, calling her “the only patriotic choice for President.”

This is not the first time the NYT has received backlash for running a piece out of step with leftist talking points. In the summer of 2020, the outlet published an op-ed by Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., arguing that the military should be sent in to respond to the George Floyd riots.

Roxane Gay, NYT op-ed writer and a feminist author, said the op-ed was inappropriate and put the NYT staff in danger. Despite the NYT apparently being “served by robust and ideologically diverse public discourse that includes radical, liberal, and conservative voices,” Gay said Cotton’s opinion article was “inflammatory” and acted like the Constitution doesn’t exist.

Another writer, Thor Benson, on X called for NYT “resignations,” Fox News reported.

Despite their pledge “to give the news impartially,” the NYT continues to serve as the Democrats’ propaganda arm, feeling the need to explain itself to left-wing readers who tell them to step back in line.

Abigail Nichols is a correspondent for The Federalist. She was previously the opinion editor for the University of South Florida’s student newspaper, The Oracle. She is now working as the business manager at the University of North Florida’s student-run media outlet, Spinnaker Media, while obtaining a Master’s Degree in Social work.