LONDON: Protesters targeted the headquarters of The New York Times in Manhattan on Thursday, accusing the newspaper of whitewashing Israel’s role in the humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in Gaza, where Tel Aviv is already facing charges of war crimes and genocide.
Videos circulating online showed pro-Palestinian activists defacing the building with the words “NYT lies, Gaza dies” in bold white lettering, alongside red paint smeared over the publication’s logo. A nearby Starbucks logo was also vandalized with red paint.
Activists accused the 173-year-old paper of bowing to pressure from pro-Israel lobby groups and “eliding” the fact that Tel Aviv “engineered the starvation.”
“In the past week, more than 100 Palestinians in Gaza have died of starvation. Six hundred and fifty thousand children have reached the fifth stage of malnutrition, which means those who do not die will likely suffer from permanent organ damage,” read a statement shared anonymously alongside footage of the protest.
“Who is responsible? You’d never know from reading the so-called ‘paper of record,’” it continued.
“It is our responsibility as people who live in this city to hold The New York Times to account. May life and peace return to Gaza, while consequences visit the home of every genocidaire.”
No group has claimed responsibility for the action, though the statement has been widely circulated online by anonymous activists.
Inbox: ‘NEW YORK TIMES IS STARVING GAZA’@nytimes protested against for its coverage of Israel’s deliberate forced starvation of Palestinians, as well as its consistently sympathetic framing of Israel’s ongoing apartheid and now genocide of Palestine.
Communique in next: pic.twitter.com/6xow6Ykzd0
— Talia Jane (@taliaotg) July 30, 2025
The protest came days after the NYT amended a front-page article on the famine in Gaza.
On Thursday, an analysis by The Intercept found that the NYT repeated Israel’s baseless claim that Hamas was stealing aid nearly 24 times before its own sources contradicted that talking point.
The report originally included a photo of severely malnourished Mohammed Zakaria Al-Mutawaq.
But a subsequent correction stated that the child had a pre-existing medical condition that affected his appearance — a revision made following pressure from pro-Israel media watchdogs including Honest Reporting.
Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett reacted to the correction on X, writing: “This is simply unbelievable. After generating a tsunami of hate towards Israel with that terrifying picture, the NYT now quietly admits that the boy has pre-existing conditions.”
The NYT — like other Western media outlets — has come under increasing criticism for coverage perceived as biased in favor of Israel during its ongoing assault on Gaza.
Earlier this week, Gaza health authorities said the death toll had surpassed 60,000 — roughly one in every 36 people — with a third of the dead believed to be children.
A UN-backed monitor confirmed that famine is now “playing out” in real time across the territory.
The controversy comes on the heels of a report by Writers Against the War on Gaza, which accused the NYT of institutional and individual bias in its coverage.
The dossier alleges ties between current staff members and pro-Israel lobbying groups or the Israeli military.
