NY Times Felt Need To Explain Its Mildly Critical Piece on Zohran Mamdani
“That’s a lot of words to say you accidentally did a journalism and now you’re sad about it because it might hurt the commie.”
Last Thursday, the New York Times committed a rare act of journalism by revealing that Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic nominee in the NYC mayoral race, claimed that he was “Black or African-American” on a 2009 Columbia University student application.
As Legal Insurrection shared, the Times observed that “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.”
Ultimately, he was unsuccessful, as the paper also noted that he wasn’t accepted at the school. But the information is prompting fresh questions for the Democratic Socialist as his star rises in the Democratic Party, with their emerging new leader telling the paper that “Most college applications don’t have a box for Indian-Ugandans, so I checked multiple boxes trying to capture the fullness of my background.”
The Times obtained the information from an anonymous Substack and X user with the handle “Crémieux” after Columbia’s database experienced a cyberattack last month in what university officials have alleged was a politically motivated attack, though Mamdani getting caught up in it was reportedly merely coincidental.
The paper’s description of the anonymous person as “an academic who opposes affirmative action and writes often about I.Q. and race,” and the fact that the piece was mildly critical of Mamdani, prompted backlash from their leftist readers who were apparently demanding to know more about the paper’s sourcing methods and why they ran the story in the first place (even though Mamdani himself confirmed it was true).
Patrick Healy, the NYT‘s assistant managing editor, posted a lengthy thread on X, where he indicated that reader feedback had been substantial enough to warrant a response:
The Times has been reporting comprehensively on Mr. Mamdani’s proposals for the city, his vision on the economy and affordability, his leadership record and his personal background, including his biography and South Asian heritage that he’s talked about during his campaign.
— Patrick Healy (@patrickhealynyt) July 4, 2025
Our reporters obtained information about Mr. Mamdani’s Columbia college application and went to the Mamdani campaign with it. When we hear anything of news value, we try to confirm it through direct sources. Mr. Mamdani confirmed this information in an interview with The Times.
— Patrick Healy (@patrickhealynyt) July 4, 2025
We believe Mr. Mamdani’s thinking and decision-making, laid out in his words, was newsworthy and in line with our mission to help readers better know and understand top candidates for major offices.
— Patrick Healy (@patrickhealynyt) July 4, 2025
Sometimes sources have their own motives or obtain information using means we wouldn't, like Trump's taxes, Wikileaks or Edward Snowden. It’s important to share what we can about sourcing, but we always independently assess newsworthiness and factual accuracy before publishing.
— Patrick Healy (@patrickhealynyt) July 4, 2025
We heard from readers who wanted more detail about this initial source. That’s fair feedback. We printed his online alias so readers could learn more about the person. The purpose of this story was to help illuminate the thinking and background of a major mayoral candidate.
— Patrick Healy (@patrickhealynyt) July 4, 2025
Presumably, most of the leftist eruptions happened on BlueCry BlueSky, as I didn’t see much hubbub about it from The Usual Suspects at X. The NYT‘s Communications account at BlueSky re-posted Healy’s messages from X, and suffice it to say, the feedback to that wasn’t so good for them, either.
Healy and his newspaper, of course, were widely mocked on the X machine for trying to smooth ruffled feathers among their reader base:
Hilarious that the NYT feels obligated to explain to their readers why they published something that makes a Democrat look bad https://t.co/wZPbXwAjTo
— Peter J. Hasson (@peterjhasson) July 4, 2025
Stop apologizing for saying something critical of a Democrat.
Your problem is that you have thin-skin and too many lefty readers.
You aren’t an outlet for everyone – you are an outlet for just the left. https://t.co/CprUIKMrgz
— Richard Grenell (@RichardGrenell) July 5, 2025
If you need to write a multipart explanation for why you’re allowed to report on a left-wing politician, you’re not a journalist, you’re a compliance officer https://t.co/IW3zRGPpNf
— Will Ricciardella (@WillRicci) July 4, 2025
I see the New York Times has added a new Hostage Note section. Bravo. https://t.co/lM1Ke1g8Jd
— David Marcus (@BlueBoxDave) July 5, 2025
NYT has to publish an emergency July 4 thread defending its journalism looking into the background of Mamdani https://t.co/228EssVkH1
— Brent Scher (@BrentScher) July 5, 2025
Let me sum this up for people in a hurry:
The New York Times offended their subscriber base by committing an act of actual journalism and saying something unflattering about a Dem favorite.
Their groveling is hereby noted.
— Jack Bauer after dark 🇺🇸🇮🇱 (@JackBauerAD) July 5, 2025
That’s a lot of words to say you accidentally did a journalism and now you’re sad about it because it might hurt the commie.
— Penny (@pennyelizabeths) July 5, 2025
Considering how leftists have been perfectly okay with digging all the way back to someone’s high school yearbook for material (including fart jokes) with which to try and smear conservative candidates for higher office, their complaints on the snoozepaper of record’s anonymous sourcing in the Mamdani piece rings a bit hollow, methinks.
-Stacey Matthews has also written under the pseudonym “Sister Toldjah” and can be reached via Twitter/X.-
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Comments
“Don’t tell me you’re seriously expecting an Authorized Journalist to reveal his sources to you, are you? Oh, that guy, the conservative researcher? Sure, here’s his screen name. If we had more would give it to you.”
You have to understand that the New York Times knows that if they do not do sufficient penance, the Leftist Office of the Inquisition and the City Joint Political Directorate will take action against them once Mamdani is installed. From what I saw elsewhere at another major and reputable blog; Mamdani released a video mocking Hanukah a year ago, and that is sure to get him enough Democrat votes to lock up the election.
Subotai Bahadur
The link got pulled off the blog in the last hour or so, but I found the original story at the New York Post.
https://nypost.com/2025/07/06/us-news/mamdani-shared-sick-video-mocking-hannukah-advocacy-group/
Subotai Bahadur
The video is still there.
I had one thought when I viewed it: “Ba’al-ywood.”
There was nothing mocking about it. It’s a funny video and not at all objectionable, except to the kind of leftist who sees offense everywhere.
Didn’t they once apologize for running an opinion piece by Tom Cotton?
Why is there a story about what happens at the NYT? I get that it was once a major paper but that was a long time ago. Now, a major part of what keeps it in business is the undue attention it gets from the right.
Stop reporting on the NYT as if it matters. Let the rag die!
Never knew how noble the NYT was in the pursuit of its journalistic mission. Which is why it must remind itself in so many tweets. Delusional newspeak at every turn.
Another neo-communist, empty-suit, lazy, private sector-avoiding, entitled, coddled and Islamophilic/Islamofascist POS, like Obama.
The similarities between the two reprobates are legion. And, we’re witnessing the same contemptible Dhimmi-crat media fawning, deification, wagon-circling and avoiding of substantive criticism/scrutiny.
With the way that the white identity has grown to include everyone from Italians, Greeks, Jews, Irish and not just the WASPs of yore.
He looks like a standard issue white guy with a good tan to me.
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