The New York Times published a report Monday which claimed they had “obtained†an unpublished government draft of a forthcoming climate assessment despite the fact that the draft has been publicly available online since January.
In light of this oversight, which TheNYT has since issued a correction on, here is a list of Times’ errors, inaccuracies, blunders, misrepresentations and general failures this year.
1) The New York Times Corrects Story Claiming 17 Intel Agencies ‘Agree’ On Russia
In a June report, The Times regurgitated the baseless claim that 17 U.S. intelligence agencies agreed Russia was responsible for meddling in the 2016 election. The report in question was published roughly one month after The Daily Caller News Foundation fact check team had thoroughly debunked the claim.
The Times, as well as a number of other media outlets, parroted the claim based solely on statements made by former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. TheNYT later issued a correction noting that only four intelligence agencies came to a consensus on Russian meddling.
They neglected to point out the absurdity involved in believing that groups like the Coast Guard would be consulted to make assessments related to election hacking.
2) The New York Times Mistook A Parody Twitter Account For The North Korean Regime
Times reporters incorrectly attributed a Tweet mocking American military efforts to the North Korean government when the Tweet was actually the product of an account dedicated to parodying North Korean news. The Times later issued a correction and admitted they fell for the parody.
The DPRK News Service claims to be the “official News feed of Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea,†but the account is run by two Americans — Patrick and Derrick, according to The Washington Post.
3) NYT Flubs Story On Food Stamps And Soda – Twice
The Times misreported data from a government study on what people buy on food stamps, then updated the story with an additional error without issuing a correction. The central claim of the story “In the Shopping Cart of a Food Stamp Household: Lots of Soda,†published in January, was that the Department of Agriculture has a report showing food stamps recipients spend nearly 10 cents of every dollar on soft drinks, but that number is almost double what the report actually said.
The Times later updated the story, without issuing an note of correction, after a University of Arkansas professor pointed out the error on Twitter.
The updated version, however, incorrectly states that soft drinks are not included in the “sweetened beverages†category. “SNAP households spent 9.3 percent of their grocery budgets on sweetened beverages alone, not including soft drinks,†the article said. This is incorrect, as soft drinks are indeed included in the “sweetened beverage†category in the USDA’s full report.
4) NYT Reporter Who Called Sessions Corrupt Forced To Correct His Statement: Actually, He Meant Loretta Lynch
New York Times Washington Editor Jonathan Weisman was forced to retract a June tweet after he insinuated Attorney General Jeff Sessions was corrupt.
Weisman asserted that former FBI Director James Comey testified Sessions asked him directly to call the Russia probe “a matter.†In actuality, the director testified that former Attorney General Loretta Lynch approached him with that request over the investigation into Clinton’s use of a private server.
Washington Free Beacon reporter Alex Griswold caught Weisman’s mistake, reminding the Times editor that the statement was made about Lynch, not Sessions.
Weisman’s tweet no longer appears on his Twitter page, but he sent another tweet shortly after noon in which he reported the news that the request came from Lynch. The tweet makes no mention of his previous mix-up.
An honest mistake and he apologized, but funny how we can all manage to mishear so badly– and hear exactly what we want to hear.
— Alex Griswold (@HashtagGriswold) June 8, 2017
Following the attempted assassination of GOP lawmakers during practice for the Congressional charity baseball game in May, The Times repeated a previously debunked theory connecting former Alaskan Gov. Sarah Palin’s campaign messaging to the shooting of Democratic Rep. Gabby Giffords in 2011.
“In 2011, when Jared Lee Loughner opened fire in a supermarket parking lot, grievously wounding Representative Gabby Giffords and killing six people, including a 9-year-old girl, the link to political incitement was clear. Before the shooting, Sarah Palin’s political action committee circulated a map of targeted electoral districts that put Ms. Giffords and 19 other Democrats under stylized cross hairs,â€Â the editors wrote.
In response to the editorial, CNN’s Jake Tapper pointed out that there was never any evidence to suggest that the schizophrenic Loughner was motivated by Palin’s campaign ads.
“Even way back in Jan 2011 we knew that Loughlin’s obsession began 3 yearsbefore the Palin map,†he tweeted.
After substantial public backlash, The Times later added, “Though there’s no sign of incitement as direct as in the Giffords attack, liberals should of course hold themselves to the same standard of decency that they ask of the right.â€
In yet another example of childlike credulity, The Times displayed its willingness to repeat a claim despite a complete lack of evidence.
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