Bad Call

NYT Disowns the Tom Cotton Op-Ed It Commissioned

After publishing an op-ed it had solicited from Sen. Tom Cotton urging federal troops to restore order amid rioting, the Times declared the piece did not meet its standards.

First reported Jun 3, 2020 · The New York Times

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

Who it helped: Democrats

The reversal served critics on the left who cast the op-ed as advocating force against peaceful protesters.

What was reported

After publishing an op-ed it had solicited from Sen. Tom Cotton urging federal troops to restore order amid rioting, the Times declared the piece did not meet its standards.

What actually happened

The op-ed drew a staff revolt, and on June 4, 2020, the paper said the essay fell short of its standards; editorial page editor James Bennet resigned June 7. In a 2023 essay, Bennet argued the Times' own news coverage had mischaracterized the piece as a call to use the military against peaceful protesters, when it was aimed at rioting. This is an internal capitulation story rather than a factual correction: the Times did not retract the op-ed.

The proof

The op-ed's text and the Times' June 4 news story, read alongside Bennet's 2023 first-hand account of the decision.

The receipt. Copy this and paste it anywhere:

NYT Disowns the Tom Cotton Op-Ed It Commissioned — Bad Call. The op-ed's text and the Times' June 4 news story, read alongside Bennet's 2023 first-hand account of the decision. Full file: https://www.thepropagandafiles.com/case/nyt-tom-cotton-op-ed-disowned/

Original reporting

The New York Times: Tom Cotton, Send In the Troops (June 3, 2020)https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/03/opinion/tom-cotton-protests-military.html

Corrections, findings & records

The New York Times: Times says senator's op-ed did not meet standards (June 4, 2020)https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/04/business/new-york-times-op-ed-cotton.html
The Economist 1843: James Bennet, When the New York Times lost its way (Dec. 2023)https://www.economist.com/1843/2023/12/14/when-the-new-york-times-lost-its-way

Archived copies

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

Archived copy: The New York Times: Tom Cotton, Send In the Troops (June 3, 2020)https://web.archive.org/web/2/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/03/opinion/tom-cotton-protests-military.html