Major shareholders sued The New York Times on Wednesday over alleged bias in its Israel-Hamas war coverage, seeking internal records. The company's shares fell as much as 11.9% this week and were down 9.8% at 2:09 p.m. EDT Thursday; the Times denied the claims.
The plaintiffs include Florida’s State Board of Administration and the National Center for Public Policy Research. The suit asks a judge to compel disclosure of records it says the Times has refused to provide for four months. It cites an unnamed internal whistleblower, who says she raised concerns about Israel coverage at least 15 times between 2019 and 2026. One example she cited was the Times hiring a Gaza freelance video journalist shortly after the Oct. 7, 2023, attack, despite having stopped using the journalist in 2022 after the journalist’s social-media posts praised Adolf Hitler.
The Times called the case meritless and said it was an effort to pressure an independent media organization and chill First Amendment-protected journalism. Whether the suit will succeed or have a financial impact remains unknown; the company reported low-double-digit revenue growth in each of its last three quarters, with the latest ending in June.
