NYT shareholders file lawsuit against paper's parent org. over biased Israel reporting

The company has refused to produce the records for four months, the majority of which pertain to the paper’s coverage of the Israel-Hamas war.

Shareholders of The New York Times filed a lawsuit against the paper’s parent company Wednesday morning, arguing the paper has failed to follow its own editorial standards.

The suit, filed by the State Board of Administration of Florida (SBA) and the National Center for Public Policy Research (NCPPR) in New York County Supreme Court, requests the Times board of directors to release internal records.

The company has refused to produce the records for four months, the majority of which pertain to the paper’s coverage of the Israel-Hamas war.

Requests were first made by the National Jewish Advocacy Center (NJAC), representing NCPPR, on May 29 following the May 11 Nicholas Kristof column titled “The Silence That Meets the Rape of Palestinians," but the NYT has not complied.

Lawsuit alleges that board failed to establish adequate oversight 

The new lawsuit, as reported by The Jerusalem Post, notes that the Times’ reputation for independent journalism is "its most valuable" asset and alleges that the board failed to establish adequate oversight mechanisms to ensure compliance with the company’s own editorial standards.

It cites examples of corrections and disputed reporting, including the October 2023 Al-Ahli hospital explosion coverage, claims about Gaza war reporting errors, and concerns raised by a purported newsroom whistleblower who said internal reporting channels did not resolve her complaints.

The whistleblower, who is not named in the suit but who is said to be a Jewish former New York Times newsroom employee with about a decade’s tenure, said that that in the immediate aftermath of Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, staffers spent weeks searching for evidence that Hamas did not use the tunnels beneath al-Shifa Hospital, even after the Israeli military released its own footage of the tunnels in November 2023.

Whistleblower claimed she raised concerns internally 

On November 20, 2023, the head of the video department reportedly referred to the tunnels as "alleged tunnels" in the desk’s morning meeting.

The whistleblower claimed she raised concerns internally about what she believed were violations of the Times’ own editorial standards through internal channels, including EthicsPoint, the Standards desk, Employee Relations, and Human Resources, on at least 15 occasions beginning in 2019.

The filing says the whistleblower’s records include allegations that complaints about newsroom standards were not properly escalated, concerns about bias in coverage were not addressed, and senior leadership was aware of some complaints but did not take corrective action.

According to the filing, the whistleblower alleged that the internal complaint system failed to address her concerns and instead turned against her.

The petitioners argue they are not seeking to direct editorial decisions, but want records showing whether the board monitors compliance with the Times’ own standards and manages reputational risks.