NYT investigating freelancer over pro-'Israel' likes on X
3 Min Read
An NYT spokesperson says the "likes" are unacceptable violations of the company's policy.
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The New York Times logo above a doorway of its corporate headquarters, in New York City, United States. (AFP)
The New York Times (NYT) is currently investigating Israeli freelancer Anat Schwartz following her repeated engagement with multiple X posts that demonstrated a pro-"Israel" bias, including one advocating for turning the Gaza Strip into a "slaughterhouse", the Daily Beast reported Sunday.
NYT spokesperson Danielle Rhodes Ha stated, "We are aware that a freelance journalist in Israel who has worked with The Times has ‘liked’ several social media posts."
"Those ‘likes’ are unacceptable violations of our company policy. We are currently reviewing the matter."
According to the Daily Beast, Schwartz started reporting for NYT in November, focusing on the war in Gaza. One of her co-authored notable pieces was about alleged sexual violence on October 7 blamed on Palestinian Resistance fighters. The piece drew internal criticism within NYT and led to the withdrawal of an episode of The Daily podcast that touched on the original story, as per The Intercept.
Israeli media reported that the Israeli family involved in Schwartz's co-authored report has disavowed the story, asserting that reporters manipulated their statements. Israeli newspaper Haaretz also reported that the Israeli police are finding paramount difficulty locating and finding any Israeli settlers who were victims of sexual assaults or witnesses of such acts allegedly committed by the Hamas Resistance movement during their October 7 Operation Al-Aqsa Flood.
The NYT statement was prompted after an X user discovered Schwartz liking various X posts with a pro-"Israel" stance, including a post from the Israeli occupation entity's official X account making unverified claims about Palestinian Resistance fighters beheading babies on October 7.
It is noteworthy that the Israeli occupation authorities have not provided any evidence for the accusations, claiming that an investigation into the matter would be "disrespectful to the dead."
The Daily Beast highlighted that the most concerning "like" was on a post by David Verthaim, who suggested turning the Gaza Strip "into a slaughterhouse" if Hamas didn't release Israeli captives held in the Strip.
The news website emphasized that NYT's social media policy warns journalists that all posts and likes "must not express partisan opinions, promote political views, endorse candidates, make offensive comments or do anything else that undercuts The Times’s journalistic reputation."
Observers on X noted that Schwartz briefly deactivated her account to remove the "likes" on Saturday.
Read more: Debunking Israeli claims: What led to NYT's false Hamas rape story
