As a response to the New York Times‘ report on the Gaza famine and their cursory remedy, their headquarters in Manhattan were vandalised earlier today. Videos went viral that showed “NYT lies, Gaza dies” written in bold white lettering with red-paint smeared

Residents and locals posted visuals on X (formerly Twitter) that attribute the vandalism to pro-Palestinian activists. A coffee shop’ logo, just beside the NYT office in Manhattan, was smeared in paint too.

Why was NYT building vandalised?

Not long ago, on July 25, NYT carried a front-page story about the acute famine in Gaza. Covering more than half the page was the image of Mohammed Zakaria al-Mutawaq. Suffering from a grim disorder, his image was placed out of context to portray the severe condition in the war-stricken country.

The readers were quick to call out the publication’s omission of Mohammed’s pre-existing condition which had nothing to do with the famine. Additionally, it was noted that the same visual was used by other media houses such as the Telegraph.

Triggering a strong backlash, the NYT was slammed for hampering “journalistic integrity” by the community. In response to the outrage, the media house addressed the backlash in an editor’s note. It stated, “This article has been updated to include information about Mohammed Zakaria al-Mutawaq, a child in Gaza suffering from severe malnutrition. After publication of the article, The Times learned from his doctor that Mohammed also had pre-existing health problems.”

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Triggered by an apology?

However, the “updated article” did not seem to be enough as several visuals showed the red-drenched office on social media. This incident of vandalism was called an “anonymous mural” as by a user who shared the images. They added, “It took the NYPD over an hour and a half to show up and put a few paint cans in an evidence bag for good measure.”

Others opined, “Islamists are furious the NYT didn’t keep up the lies—and they’re trying to intimidate them into submission.” While others criticised NYT’s lukewarm response, a netizen noted that the building was vandalised “not because the Times was too tough on Israel, but because of one tiny apology that didn’t fit their narrative.”

Calling out the act of vandalism itself, a user noted that they were “not wrong” to do so. They noted, “NYT lies and spreads antisemitic propaganda that helps Hamas keep in power, so Gaza keeps dying.”

With the views and opinions the Trump administration has of the NYT, it was easy for social media posts to have a polarised opinion on the vandalism. However, other journalists on X noted that this was a flaw in journalistic integrity after a leading name’s “glaring mistake”.