Saturday, October 31, 2026Every claim sourced. Every source linked.
The record of what the American press got wrong, and who it helped
By outlet

The New York Times

44 files on the record. 35 helped Democrats, 3 helped Republicans, 6 helped neither.

35 helped Democrats (80%)Democrats 80%3 helped Republicans (7%)6 helped Neither party (14%)
Bad Call

Biden age videos framed as "cheap fakes" days before the debate

In mid-June 2024, the White House called viral clips of President Biden "cheap fakes," and prominent coverage emphasized that videos fueling doubts about his age were misleadingly edited.

Jun 18, 2024 · The New York Times, Major outlets relaying White House framing
Helped: Democrats
Retracted

Gaza hospital blast blamed on Israeli strike with ~500 dead

On Oct. 17, 2023, prominent headlines attributed an explosion at al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City to an Israeli airstrike and reported hundreds dead, relying on statements from the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry.

Oct 17, 2023 · The New York Times, BBC, Others relaying Gaza Health Ministry figures
Helped: Democrats
Debunked

Border Patrol agents "whipping" Haitian migrants in Del Rio

Photos and video of mounted Border Patrol agents confronting Haitian migrants near Del Rio, Texas, were widely described as agents whipping or using whips on migrants.

Sep 20, 2021 · Axios, The New York Times, HuffPost
Helped: Democrats
Retracted

The FBI 'Warning' to Giuliani That Never Happened

All three outlets reported that the FBI had warned Rudy Giuliani in 2019 that he was the target of a Russian disinformation operation.

Apr 29, 2021 · The Washington Post, The New York Times, NBC News
Helped: Democrats
Debunked

Officer Sicknick 'Killed by Fire Extinguisher'

Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick was reported to have died after rioters struck him with a fire extinguisher on January 6.

Jan 8, 2021 · The New York Times, many outlets citing it
Helped: Democrats
Unproven

Russian Bounties on U.S. Troops

The New York Times reported that U.S. intelligence had concluded a Russian military intelligence unit secretly offered Taliban-linked militants bounties for killing U.S. and coalition troops in Afghanistan. The story set off weeks of coverage of what the president knew.

Jun 26, 2020 · The New York Times
Helped: Democrats
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.

Jun 3, 2020 · The New York Times
Helped: Democrats
Unproven

1619 Project Narrows Its Revolution-and-Slavery Claim

The 1619 Project's lead essay stated, without qualification, that protecting slavery was one of the primary reasons the colonists declared independence from Britain.

Mar 11, 2020 · The New York Times
Helped: Democrats
Retracted

MSNBC: Bloomberg Could Have Given Every American $1 Million

On MSNBC's The 11th Hour, Brian Williams and Times editorial board member Mara Gay approvingly read a tweet saying Bloomberg's roughly $500 million in ad spending could have given each American $1 million.

Mar 5, 2020 · MSNBC, The New York Times (editorial board member as guest)
Helped: Neither party
Framing

Early 2020 coverage of coronavirus risk and travel

In late January 2020 CNN reported that fear of the new coronavirus was fueling racism and xenophobia. On Feb 5 a New York Times opinion piece by Rosie Spinks questioned warnings against travel to China. In mid-February USA Today quoted a top US disease official describing the risk to Americans as 'minuscule' and advising hand-washing over masks. Seen in hindsight, the pieces show how early coverage understated the coming pandemic.

Jan 31, 2020 · CNN, New York Times, USA Today
Helped: Democrats
Unproven

New Kavanaugh misconduct allegations missing key context

A September 2019 New York Times Sunday Review essay adapted from a book by two Times reporters presented a new allegation of Kavanaugh's college misconduct; in 2018, Julie Swetnick's sworn declaration of drugging and gang rapes at parties was widely broadcast.

Sep 14, 2019 · The New York Times, NBC News, Major outlets (Swetnick declaration, 2018)
Helped: Democrats
Framing

NYT columnists repeat 'very fine people' against the full transcript

In August 2019 Frank Bruni and Michelle Goldberg each wrote that Trump called neo-Nazis 'very fine people.' The same transcript, published by CNN, has Trump saying he was not talking about neo-Nazis and white nationalists, who 'should be condemned totally.'

Aug 5, 2019 · The New York Times, CNN
Helped: Democrats
Double Standard

NYT: 'Replacement theory' is racist, and 'We can replace them'

In March 2019 the Times described 'replacement theory' as a racist, sexist doctrine spreading in far-right circles. Five months earlier, columnist Michelle Goldberg's piece 'We Can Replace Them' urged Georgia voters to show white nationalists 'they're being replaced.'

Oct 29, 2018 · The New York Times
Helped: Democrats
Retracted

NYT Pins Obama-Era $52,701 Curtains on Nikki Haley

A Times story and headline tied $52,701 in State Department curtain spending to U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley amid budget cuts, illustrated with her photo.

Sep 13, 2018 · The New York Times
Helped: Democrats
Retracted

NYT Retracts the Core of Its 'Caliphate' Podcast

The Times' award-winning podcast Caliphate centered on a Canadian man who said he had joined ISIS in Syria and taken part in executions.

Apr 19, 2018 · The New York Times
Helped: Neither party
Debunked

NBC: Russian Bots and Trolls Drove #ReleaseTheMemo

NBC and other outlets reported that Russia-linked bots and trolls were amplifying the #ReleaseTheMemo hashtag pushing for release of the Nunes FISA memo, relying largely on the Hamilton 68 dashboard.

Jan 19, 2018 · NBC News, The New York Times, Business Insider
Helped: Democrats
Bad Call

Russians 'attempted to hack elections systems in 21 states'

After DHS notified states, outlets reported that Russian government hackers had targeted or tried to hack election systems in 21 states, with USA Today naming Wisconsin among them.

Sep 22, 2017 · USA Today, The New York Times, The Washington Post
Helped: Democrats
Retracted

NYT's 'leaked' climate report had been public for months

A front-page Times story said scientists feared the Trump administration would suppress a draft federal climate report that had not been made public, and that a copy had been leaked to the paper.

Aug 7, 2017 · The New York Times
Helped: Democrats
Contradiction

NYT questions Trump's China trade figure, then reports a similar one

Trump tweeted that China's trade with North Korea grew almost 40 percent in the first quarter. The Times story wrote that it was not clear where he got the 40 percent figure, then reported later in the article that China's trade with the North grew 37.4 percent in the first three months of the year. The Washington Free Beacon pointed out the juxtaposition.

Jul 5, 2017 · New York Times, Washington Free Beacon
Helped: Democrats
Retracted

NYT and AP correct the '17 intelligence agencies' agreed claim

The Times and AP repeatedly reported that all 17 U.S. intelligence agencies agreed Russia had interfered in the 2016 election, using the figure to fault Trump for doubting it.

Jun 25, 2017 · The New York Times, Associated Press
Helped: Democrats
Retracted

NYT editorial ties Palin's map to the Giffords shooting

After the shooting at the GOP congressional baseball practice, the Times editorial 'America's Lethal Politics' said a clear link existed between political incitement, including a Sarah Palin PAC map, and the 2011 shooting of Rep. Gabby Giffords.

Jun 14, 2017 · The New York Times
Helped: Democrats
Unproven

Comey 'asked for more resources' for the Russia probe days before he was fired

The day after Comey's firing, multiple outlets reported, citing congressional and other officials, that Comey had asked Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein for a significant increase in resources for the Russia investigation shortly before Trump fired him.

May 10, 2017 · The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal
Helped: Democrats
Debunked

NYT: Trump aides had 'repeated contacts' with Russian intelligence

Citing four current and former officials, the Times reported that phone records and intercepted calls showed Trump campaign members and associates in repeated contact with senior Russian intelligence officials during the year before the 2016 election.

Feb 14, 2017 · The New York Times
Helped: Democrats
Contradiction

NYT: "Wiretapped Data" in January, "No Evidence" in March

On January 20, 2017, the Times' print front page reported that intercepted communications were part of a federal inquiry into Trump associates' links to Russia, under the print headline "Wiretapped Data Used in Inquiry of Trump Aides". In March, when Trump tweeted that Obama had tapped his phones at Trump Tower, the Times said he offered no evidence for the claim.

Jan 19, 2017 · The New York Times
Helped: Democrats
Bad Call

Krugman: Markets Would 'Never' Recover From Trump

Writing on election night as stock futures plunged, NYT columnist Paul Krugman said the first-pass answer to when markets would recover was never, and that the world was probably facing a global recession with no end in sight.

Nov 9, 2016 · The New York Times
Helped: Democrats
Bad Call

The Upshot Gave Clinton About an 85% Chance

The New York Times' Upshot forecast put Hillary Clinton's chance of winning the presidency at roughly 85 percent heading into Election Day, listed at 84 percent in its final reading, giving Trump about 16 percent.

Nov 8, 2016 · The New York Times
Helped: Democrats
Framing

"Dark": the same word across outlets on Trump's RNC speech

On the night of Trump's July 21, 2016 acceptance speech and the morning after, several major outlets used "dark" in their headlines or framing. Critics such as Legal Insurrection said the shared word showed media groupthink that echoed Clinton campaign talking points.

Jul 21, 2016 · The Washington Post, The New York Times, The New Yorker
Helped: Democrats
Unproven

NYT's Trump-and-women exposé disputed by its own lead anecdote

The Times's investigation of Donald Trump's private conduct with women opened with former model Rowanne Brewer Lane's 1990 Mar-a-Lago pool-party story, presented as an example of Trump demeaning women.

May 15, 2016 · The New York Times
Helped: Democrats
Retracted

NYT quietly rewrites a Sanders profile from glowing to doubtful

A New York Times piece on Bernie Sanders's legislative record first ran as a largely positive account of how he won amendments, then was substantially reworked after publication to add skeptical paragraphs about his effectiveness.

Mar 14, 2016 · The New York Times
Helped: Democrats
Retracted

NYT: Malik Posted Openly About Jihad on Social Media

The Times reported that San Bernardino shooter Tashfeen Malik had talked openly on social media about her support for jihad and that immigration officials missed it during her visa vetting.

Dec 13, 2015 · The New York Times
Helped: Republicans
Retracted

AP and CNN Fall for Fake San Bernardino 'Witness'

The AP published, and CNN aired, an account from a supposed survivor of the San Bernardino attack, including a claim tying the shooter to the GamerGate controversy.

Dec 3, 2015 · Associated Press, CNN, The New York Times (AP copy)
Helped: Neither party
Retracted

NYT's 'Criminal Inquiry' Into Hillary Clinton's Email

The Times reported that two inspectors general had asked the Justice Department to open a criminal investigation into whether Hillary Clinton mishandled sensitive information on her private email account.

Jul 23, 2015 · The New York Times
Helped: Republicans
Retracted

NYT Quietly Softens Its Christie 'Bombshell'

The Times first reported that former Port Authority official David Wildstein said Gov. Chris Christie knew about the George Washington Bridge lane closures and that Wildstein had the evidence to prove it.

Jan 31, 2014 · The New York Times
Helped: Democrats
Debunked

Navy Yard Gunman 'Armed With an AR-15' — He Wasn't

Numerous outlets reported that Navy Yard gunman Aaron Alexis used an AR-15 rifle, and the claim drove calls for an assault-weapons ban.

Sep 16, 2013 · New York Daily News, CNN, The New York Times
Helped: Democrats
Retracted

Sandy Hook: Shooter's Mother Reported as a Teacher at the School

Major outlets reported that Nancy Lanza, the gunman's mother, taught kindergarten or substituted at Sandy Hook Elementary, implying a motive tied to her classroom.

Dec 14, 2012 · The New York Times, The Washington Post, Associated Press
Helped: Neither party
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