Florida Investigates New York Times’ ‘Documented Failures’ in Israel Coverage, Claiming Errors Could Harm Millions of Retirees

Florida’s attorney general, James Uthmeier, is warning that numerous “failures” in the New York Times’ coverage of Israel could expose the paper to litigation, which could negatively impact shareholders, including Florida retirees.On Monday, Mr. Uthmeier sent a demand letter to the Times, seeking documentation about the paper’s editorial standards. Mr. Uthmeier, who previously served as Governor Ron DeSantis’ chief of staff, said his demand was grounded in the fact that the Florida Retirement System Trust Fund is a “long-term beneficial owner” of The New York Times Company stock. He said that “editorial malpractice” by the Times The Florida Retirement System, which has more than 1.2 million members and beneficiaries, owns roughly 147,831 shares of the Times.“This Demand arises from the Company’s repeated publication of factually unsupported content and from the perceived absence of any control and required supervision by the Company’s Board of Directors (the ‘Board’) over the editorial standards the Company itself has adopted to prevent it,” the letter states.A spokeswoman for the Times, Danielle Rhoads Ha, told the Sun, “We are aware of the demand letter, which, while positioned as a request under corporate law, is a clear attempt to chill First Amendment-protected journalism. We will respond more fully in due course.”The attorney general said that he is not trying to influence what kind of articles the Times publishes. However, he noted that the “Company has told its investors that its’ brand and reputation are key assets’: that those assets may be damaged by a ‘perception that our journalism is unreliable or biased’; and that public figures ‘have in certain instances become more active pursuing defamation and/or libel lawsuits against media outlets.”Mr. Uthmeier’s letter says it is seeking documents to show whether the Times’ board of directors has “implemented and monitored any system” to detect when “the company’s own editorial standards have been violated” and how the board responded to those violations. He said that there have been “publicly documented failures” of the Times to uphold its editorial standards, as well as instances of the paper using its opinion section to “publish reported factual assertions outside the newsroom’s verification controls.”Specifically, Mr. Uthmeier referenced a May column written by a columnist, Nicholas Kristof in which several Palestinians alleged that they were abused by Israeli security officials. The column was quickly denounced by critics who questioned the credibility of the interviewees, noting that some of them had histories of widely sharing anti-Israel viewpoints or propaganda.In particular, one claim —that Israel had trained dogs to rape detainees — has received intense scrutiny as it was attributed to an anonymous “Gaza Journalist,” and the op-ed did not cite any official investigations into that claim. Instead, it cited reports from groups that have repeatedly made unfounded claims against Israel. Israeli officials have denounced the column, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened to sue the paper. Mr. Uthmeier noted that the Times’ executive editor, Joe Kahn, told Vox’s Peter Kafka that Mr. Kristof’s column was not “edited by the newsroom.” Mr. Kahn also said that the newsroom “probably wouldn’t” have published an article “identical” to Mr. Kristof’s column, but said he has “confidence” that the editors in the opinion section “edit with rigor.”Mr. Uthmeier also recalled that in October 2023, the Times reported that Israel bombed the al-Ahli hospital at Gaza, and that the article was quickly pushed out in news alerts and social media posts, but days later the paper published an editor’s note that said the report “relied too heavily on claims by Hamas.”“The report left readers with an incorrect impression about what was known and how credible the account was,” the note said. Mr. Uthmeier’s letter referenced the Times’ reporting on American politics as well, such as the paper’s report about former Democratic Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner’s “unsettling behavior” in his past relationships. The report focused heavily on allegations made by a conservative activist Lyndsey Fifield, but stated that reporters “could not corroborate” her allegations of physical abuse.”Ms. Fifield has criticized the Times for that line, writing on X that she gave reporters contact information for friends who could corroborate her allegations. She also said she offered to provide the contact information for her ex-fiance and priest, but that the reporters told her that was not necessary.A month later, Politico published sexual assault allegations from another ex-girlfriend, Jenny Racicot, who also spoke to the Times for its story. Ms. Racicot told Politico that she shared her allegation of sexual assault off the record. However, the Times claimed that Ms. Racicot simply said Mr. Platner’s behavior was “unsettling” but that she “did not elaborate.”In a video posted on X, Mr. Uthmeier said, “The Times tells investors that its brand and reputation are its most important assets, and that if people see its journalism as unreliable or biased, the company can be hurt.”“So, we want to exercise our rights under New York law to review the company’s internal board documents, meeting minutes, reports, and other materials, to see what the directors know,” he said.The New York Times Company’s stock was priced around $63 as of Tuesday afternoon, which is down from May but still higher than it has been in recent years.

Florida Investigates New York Times’ ‘Documented Failures’ in Israel Coverage, Claiming Errors Could Harm Millions of Retirees

Florida Investigates New York Times’ ‘Documented Failures’ in Israel Coverage, Claiming Errors Could Harm Millions of Retirees

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