Florida state fund sues NY Times over alleged anti-Israel bias, demands records
Petition is partly based on claims by former newsroom employee who says paper brushed off complaints of anti-Israel bias, cast Gaza freelancer’s Hitler praise as ‘just some jokes’
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Florida’s state-run public pension fund and a conservative think tank sued The New York Times on Wednesday, seeking materials to determine whether the company’s board is letting the newspaper promote biased editorial coverage against Israel.
Both petitioners are shareholders, and the Florida pension fund had about $235.7 billion of assets under management as of August 31.
According to a petition filed in a New York state court in Manhattan, a series of factual errors in Times reporting on various subjects supports a reasonable inference that the board has allowed journalistic standards to be “weaponized within the company to serve the personal agendas of unchecked editors.”
The State Board of Administration of Florida, which oversees the Florida Retirement System Trust Fund, and the National Center for Public Policy Research said they are not second-guessing the newspaper’s editorial judgment, but want assurances the board is taking necessary safeguards to ensure The Times follows its editorial standards and avoids “biased and unreliable” reporting.
“This lawsuit has no merit and was brought for an improper purpose,” Times spokesperson Charlie Stadtlander said.
Wednesday’s petition is based in part on claims by an unnamed former Times newsroom employee who worked there for a decade and expressed concern about ostensible anti-Israel bias as early as 2019, four years before Hamas’s October 7, 2023, onslaught sparked the war in Gaza.
According to the petition, The Times brushed off the whistleblower’s repeated complaints about a widespread culture of anti-Israel bias, including when a human resources representative suggested she “go find a place whose values align with yours.”
The whistleblower reported pushback in the newsroom against linking the Gaza health ministry to Hamas, which controls the ministry, and against referring to Hamas attackers as “terrorists.”
The whistleblower also described staff rejecting footage from a source deemed “pro-Israel,” demands to use the term “genocide” against Israel, and staff brushing off a Gaza freelancer’s praise of Adolf Hitler as “just some jokes.
Three trustees, including Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, both Republicans, oversee the SBA, which serves more than 1.2 million members and beneficiaries.
Uthmeier’s office and the National Jewish Advocacy Center, which represents the SBA, and the National Center for Public Policy Research did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
“The question is not whether The New York Times has the right to publish controversial journalism. Of course it does,” Steve Milloy, executive director of the think tank’s Free Enterprise Project, said in a statement. “The question is whether the company is actually following the safeguards it tells its readers and investors are essential to producing accurate and trustworthy journalism.”
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
The Times of Israel Community.