FREE PRESS
How ‘The New York Times’ Laundered a Conspiracy
Matti Friedman and Dan Senor
May 14, 2026

On Monday, The New York Times published an opinion column by Nicholas Kristof titled “The Silence That Meets the Rape of Palestinians.” In it, Kristof recounts allegations of sexual abuse against Palestinians committed by Israeli soldiers, prison guards, and interrogators. The column swiftly provoked a firestorm, as many of its claims were revealed to be misleading, unverified, or demonstrably false. (For more on this, read Eli Lake’s “Nick Kristof’s ‘Dog Torture’ Claim About Israel Doesn’t Pass Muster,” and Haviv Rettig Gur’s “The Paper Trail of Nicholas Kristof’s Smear.”) But how does a piece like this end up in The New York Times in the first place? That’s the question Free Press columnist Matti Friedman explores in a recent interview with Dan Senor on the Call Me Back podcast. READ MORE

AFTER OCT 7 Today’s Der Stürmer: The New York Times Runs the Hamas ‘Dog Rape’ Libel as Fact  The New York Times ran the Hamas-originated “dog rape” libel this morning, claiming Israeli soldiers trained dogs to rape Palestinian prisoners and quoting anonymous Palestinians who allege they were dog-rape victims. Insane, yes. But unsurprising, considering the complete institutional capture of the Times by the antizionist hate movement and their shared anti-Jewish ideology. Antizionist propaganda is now the beating heart of the Times’ newsroom and opinion section, both of which are effectively pro-Hamas. Nicholas Kristof’s column, “The Silence That Meets the Rape of Palestinians,” describes an unnamed man saying he was stripped naked, blindfolded, handcuffed, and penetrated by a dog whose handler encouraged it in Hebrew.

TIMES OF ISRAEL Prison Service: NYT article alleging widespread rape of Palestinian prisoners ‘entirely unfounded’ The Israel Prison Service firmly denies allegations in a New York Times article of “a pattern of widespread Israeli sexual violence” against Palestinian prisoners by soldiers, settlers, and prison guards. “The allegations raised are false and entirely unfounded,” the IPS tells The Times of Israel. 

FREE PRESS The Case of Israel v. Kristof Is Dead on Arrival Netanyahu wants to punish ‘The New York Times’ for its claims about prison abuse, but the law effectively blocks any lawsuit he’d bring.

ARUTZ SHEVA Does the New York Times want to kill Jews? Do Nicholas Kristof and his employers at the New York Times want to see more attacks on Israeli civilians and on innocent Jews around the world? They sure act like that’s exactly what they want to see. Kristof committed a crime against journalism in his latest attack on Israel. Without bothering to verify a single source, he spread a blood libel that is guaranteed to be used to justify more attacks on Jews.