The investigation continues into a vandalism attack at The New York Times’ Midtown headquarters after unknown individuals used fire extinguishers filled with red paint to mar the journalism giant’s entrance.
No one has yet claimed responsibility for Wednesday’s vandalism, in which the phrase “NYT lies, Gaza dies” was also spray-painted in white on the building’s windows. Flyers left at the scene criticized the newspaper’s coverage of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
The protest occurred less than a day after The Times issued an editors’ note on July 30 correcting a front-page article first published on July 24. The article, titled “Gazans Are Dying of Starvation,” featured a photograph of Mohammed Zakaria al-Mutawaq, a Gazan child diagnosed with severe malnutrition.
The note stated that, after publication, The Times learned from the child’s doctor that he had pre-existing health conditions, which would have been included in the photo caption, “Had The Times known the information before publication.”
“The Israel-Hamas war is one of the most divisive global events in recent history,” New York Times spokesperson Danielle Rhoades Ha wrote in a statement to amNewYork. “As an independent news organization, we receive criticism regularly from those representing entrenched perspectives, hoping to change our reporting.”
Flyers left at the scene accused The New York Times of downplaying both the causes and the scale of the famine in Gaza, opening with the headline: “THE NEW YORK TIMES IS STARVING GAZA.”
The flyers stated that more than 100 Palestinians had died of starvation in the past week, citing 650,000 children experiencing fifth-stage malnutrition, and that over 1,000 people died while waiting for food since May, primarily at distribution points linked to the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which the flyers described as a U.S.- and Israeli-backed front “for the continuation of the genocide.”
The flyers also referred to a July 26 Times print edition headline, “Israel to Allow Aid Drops Amid Starvation,” which they said failed to acknowledge the role of Israeli policy in creating the conditions that led to famine.
“‘Israel’ engineered the starvation, a fact the NYT persistently elides,” read the flyer.
The flyers also noted that on July 27, The Times reported Israeli officials had stated there was no evidence Hamas had stolen humanitarian aid—an explanation previously used to justify restrictions on food deliveries into Gaza. The fliers accused The Times of failing to address its role in reporting those early allegations, which they described as “a genocidal lie used to justify siege and forced starvation.”
The July 24 article described widespread hunger and rising malnutrition in Gaza following 21 months of war. It included testimony from doctors and families, reports of children dying from starvation, and warnings from the World Food Program that a third of Gaza’s population had gone days without food.
According to the article, aid has entered Gaza through two primary channels: convoys managed by international organizations and fixed sites coordinated by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. Both systems have faced logistical, safety, and access challenges. Humanitarian organizations have accused Israeli authorities of limiting aid entry, while Israeli officials have said Hamas and operational failures within Gaza have contributed to the crisis.
Rhoades Ha emphasized that while The Times supports the right of individuals and groups to express their views, it will not allow advocacy efforts to “sway us from covering the conflict fully and fairly.”
“Nor do we condone acts of vandalism,” added Rhoades Ha.
