NYT probes Kristof articles that quoted donors to his 2021 political campaign

The New York Times is reviewing Nicholas Kristof’s articles that quote donors to his failed 2021 run for governor of Oregon, Semafor reports.

Kristof wrote a widely criticized column last month that alleged sexual assault of Palestinians in Israeli prisons. That column, and its alleged deficiencies, led to wider scrutiny of Kristof’s work, of Kristof himself, and of New York Times coverage of Israel.

Semafor reports that it received a tip about Kristof’s reporting on his donors after the Israel column was released, although it isn’t clear what motivated the source.

When Kristof returned to The New York Times in 2022, after his run for governor, the newspaper said Kristof would not write about donors to his campaign, or would disclose the donations in his coverage.

Kristof quoted donors at least a dozen times without any disclosure, however.

Some of the donors included Bill Gates, a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, a partner at the McKinsey consulting firm and a Harvard professor.

A New York Times spokesperson tells Semafor that the newspaper is reviewing the articles mentioning Kristof’s donors.

“Previous political donations made by some people Nick Kristof mentioned in his columns should have been made more clear to readers,” the spokesperson says. “Editors from Times Opinion are reviewing these articles to determine further clarifications for readers.”

The New York Times has repeatedly defended Kristof’s reporting about alleged sexual abuse of Palestinians.