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The Big Lies › 2026 › File PF-0117
Retracted

NYT Inflates 'Pax Silica' Fund and Misquotes a State Dept. Official

A Times story on the administration's 'Pax Silica' investment effort said it sought $4 trillion. It also quoted Under Secretary Jacob Helberg calling the Strait of Hormuz crisis a 'blessing.'

First reported Mar 23, 2026 · The New York Times
Screenshot of the original report as published
Screenshot of the report as published: dailycaller.com. Tap to open the source.
Who it helped: Neither party

The errors cut both ways: they inflated an administration program and made an official sound callous about a crisis.

What was reported

A Times story on the administration's 'Pax Silica' investment effort said it sought $4 trillion. It also quoted Under Secretary Jacob Helberg calling the Strait of Hormuz crisis a 'blessing.'

What actually happened

The Times issued corrections in two rounds. The figure was over $1 trillion, not $4 trillion, and that was assets under management, not money committed. Helberg had called the situation a 'lesson,' not a 'blessing.' Helberg publicly accused the paper of fabricating quotes. The corrections describe a misquote and misstated figures, not invented quotations.

The proof

The Times' own appended corrections of March 23 and March 29, 2026.

The receipt. Copy this and paste it anywhere:

NYT Inflates 'Pax Silica' Fund and Misquotes a State Dept. Official — Retracted. The Times' own appended corrections of March 23 and March 29, 2026. Full file: https://www.thepropagandafiles.com/case/nyt-pax-silica-helberg-misquote/

Original reporting

Corrections, findings & records

Archived copies

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

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