The New York Times faces lawsuit over claims of biased Israel reporting

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier on Wednesday filed a lawsuit in the New York Supreme Court against The New York Times on behalf of Florida retirees who are shareholders in the news company. According to court documents, he is seeking an order allowing him to inspect the internal records, governance procedures, and editorial standards of the Times’ board over allegations of repeated bias and blatant errors in the company’s coverage of Israel. The National Center for Public Policy Research, another Times shareholder, is also named in the lawsuit. The Times denied previous requests for an inspection, according to court documents.

Whistleblower testimony from a Jewish former employee indicated that the Times did not follow its own editorial standards when reporting on Israel and when governing its own reporters, the lawsuit claimed. Court documents also cited several peer-reviewed studies, including one which found that the company admitted to 72 errors in its coverage of the Israel-Hamas war over an eight-month span. One example given in the lawsuit was the Times’ decision to illustrate an article on malnutrition in Gaza with a photo of a child known to have serious health conditions affecting his muscle development. The article didn’t originally include that information, according to court documents.

The Times’ 13-member board is responsible for ensuring the company follows its own standards and creates an impartial news product, Uthmeier argued. However, the company’s internal structure didn’t appear to give the board any way to do so, according to court documents.

How has The New York Times responded? In its own coverage of the matter, the outlet posted a statement by Charlie Stadtlander, a spokesman for the Times. Stadtlander called the lawsuit meritless and insisted it was an attempt to exert agenda-driven pressure on an independent news organization. He accused the litigants of leveling false allegations of bias against the Times and trying to stifle free speech protected by the First Amendment. He also accused the litigants of wrongfully disguising their efforts in a corporate governance petition to inspect the company’s books and records.