Unproven

NYT Keeps Ted Cruz Off Bestseller List Over Unshown 'Bulk Purchases'

The Times excluded Sen. Ted Cruz's memoir 'A Time for Truth' from its bestseller list, saying an overwhelming preponderance of evidence showed sales were limited to strategic bulk purchases.

First reported Jul 10, 2015 · The New York Times

Screenshot of the original report as published — Screenshot of the report as published: money.cnn.com (archived copy, Wayback Machine). Tap to open the source.

Who it helped: Democrats

The unsupported bulk-buying claim suggested a Republican presidential candidate had gamed his book sales.

What was reported

The Times excluded Sen. Ted Cruz's memoir 'A Time for Truth' from its bestseller list, saying an overwhelming preponderance of evidence showed sales were limited to strategic bulk purchases.

What actually happened

The Times never identified any bulk buyer. Amazon said it found no evidence of unusual bulk purchase activity, and HarperCollins said it found no bulk orders through any retailer, noting the book ranked on Nielsen BookScan, WSJ and Barnes & Noble lists that exclude bulk sales. The following week the Times placed the book at No. 7, saying it had used the same process.

The proof

Amazon's and HarperCollins' statements finding no bulk buying, and the Times' own listing of the book a week later.

The receipt. Copy this and paste it anywhere:

NYT Keeps Ted Cruz Off Bestseller List Over Unshown 'Bulk Purchases' — Unproven. Amazon's and HarperCollins' statements finding no bulk buying, and the Times' own listing of the book a week later. Full file: https://www.thepropagandafiles.com/case/nyt-cruz-book-bulk-purchases/

Original reporting

CNNMoney: Ted Cruz blasts New York Times over bestseller snub (NYT statement)https://money.cnn.com/2015/07/10/media/ted-cruz-new-york-times-bestseller-harpercollins

Corrections, findings & records

CNNMoney: Amazon sides with Cruz, finds no unusual bulk purchaseshttps://money.cnn.com/2015/07/13/media/ted-cruz-new-york-times-bestseller-list
CNNMoney: Cruz's book cracks NYT bestseller list at No. 7https://money.cnn.com/2015/07/15/media/ted-cruz-nytimes-bestseller
Publishers Weekly: Was Ted Cruz unfairly excluded?https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industrynews/publisher-news/article/67457-was-ted-cruz-unfairly-excluded-from-the-nyt-bestseller-list.html

Archived copies

Stories get edited after publication. These open the Internet Archive's earliest saved copy of each original.

Archived copy: CNNMoney: Ted Cruz blasts New York Times over bestseller snub (NYT statement)https://web.archive.org/web/2/https://money.cnn.com/2015/07/10/media/ted-cruz-new-york-times-bestseller-harpercollins