(VINnews) — The New York Times, the ‘paper of record’ that was once considered the gold standard of journalism, has come stunningly close to being labeled fake news by X (formerly Twitter).
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The Times is no longer a gold-badge verified account on Elon Musk’s platform. However the outlet does now have a blue-check verification.
🚨 Breaking: @elonmusk removed New York Times’ verification badge, following a flood of false information it published on the Israel-Gaza war 👇 pic.twitter.com/qljbsNRhlN
— Dr. Eli David (@DrEliDavid) October 20, 2023
Hours after Twitter users discovered that the Times was missing its original golden check mark which media accounts are given, a new blue check mark appeared, paid for by the outlet (something presumably the Ayatollah of Iran can do as well).
Musk has long been critical of the outlet, and engages with a NY Times parody account on the platform.
Although no official reason has been given, the Times has been guilty of reporting false and premature information, which can be harmful and toxic, especially regarding Israel.
This week, the Times rushed to publish a fake news story, with the headline and subhead: “ISRAEL STRIKE KILLS HUNDREDS AT HOSPITAL, PALESTINIANS SAY. At least 500 dead; Israel urges caution as it investigates.”
The story was debunked at every level, and while the death toll was exaggerated by hundreds, the actual culprits were the Palestinians themselves.
“The ‘New York’ Times is a declining, once-powerful, but fundamentally doomed to be regional & increasingly archaic legacy publication,” Musk tweeted in August.
Musk also once said the Times’ readership “is tiny compared to this platform.”
That is both funny & tragic in its accuracy.
The “New York” Times is a declining, once-powerful, but fundamentally doomed to be regional & increasingly archaic legacy publication.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 18, 2023
Like most news outlets, prior to Friday, the Times had never paid to use the platform.
According to the Washington Post, the badge was removed Tuesday without notice, a person familiar with the change said. A Times spokesperson said Friday that X “continues to provide no information or explanation for any of these moves.”
In April, NPR, CBC, BBC, China’s Xinhua, and Russia’s RT accounts were labeled “state-affiliated media” because they were funded by their respective governments in some capacity. Ultimately, that distinction was removed from all accounts, but not before NPR opted to permanently leave the platform.