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The New York Times is reviewing the work of liberal columnist Nicholas Kristof to determine if “clarifications” are necessary after he failed to disclose that subjects of his work previously donated to his political campaign.
Kristof, who briefly left the Times in 2021 to run for governor of Oregon as a Democrat, returned to the newspaper in 2022 after he was deemed ineligible because of the state’s three-year residency requirement. At the time, the Times insisted Kristof would “either refrain from writing about donors or disclose the relationship to readers” going forward.
Semafor reported on Monday that Kristof “wrote favorably” about Bill Gates, who was a significant donor to his failed campaign, on multiple occasions without noting that Gates and his former wife reportedly forked over a combined $100,000. Semafor also reported that Kristof quoted McKinsey Global Managing Partner Bob Sternfels and late Harvard professor Joseph Nye without disclosing their prior donations to his campaign, along with other “undisclosed connections.”
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The New York Times is reviewing the work of columnist Nicholas Kristof. (Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images)
The Times, which has strict rules about its journalists participating in political activism, announced a probe once Semafor inquired about the potential conflict.
“Previous political donations made by some people Nick Kristof mentioned in his columns should have been made more clear to readers. Editors from Times Opinion are reviewing these articles to determine further clarifications for readers,” a Times spokesperson told Digital.
Meanwhile, Kristof has been outspoken when it comes to news surrounding deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, and even directly asked ex-Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak about his ties to the convicted pedophile at last year’s New York Times DealBook summit. Kristof has criticized President Donald Trump for alleged ties to Epstein and even spoke with “survivors of sex trafficking and those who work with them” for a February piece.
But Gates, who appeared multiple times over millions of documents released by the federal government as part of its criminal case against Epstein, famously told congressional investigators that Epstein sought to exploit his marital infidelity to gain access to him. Kristof has repeatedly written about Epstein but has not mentioned Gates’ ties to him.
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Former New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof walked away from the liberal newspaper after a 37-year career to run for Oregon governor only to be ruled ineligible, but has been rehired. (Elizabeth Shafiroff/Reuters)
Gates and Epstein were shown corresponding and socializing between 2011 and 2014, including at Epstein’s New York town house, according to the files. Gates has said he never witnessed Epstein commit criminal behavior and was “never interested” in pursuing a relationship with him despite the sex offender’s efforts to do so.
Kristof has pushed various Gates Foundation’s initiatives, covered Gates’ prediction that gene editing could cure AIDS and even mentioned Gates referring to a book as a “must read.” None of those pieces included a disclaimer that Gates donated to his campaign and Kristof’s “What Trafficked Girls Think of Jeffrey Epstein and His Pals” made no mention of Gates.
The Times and Gates did not immediately respond when asked for comment.
It’s hardly the first time Kristof has caused headaches for the Times. Last month, Kristof penned the infamous opinion piece that sparked outrage with allegations of serial sexual abuse by Israelis against Palestinian detainees.
Kristof said a Gaza journalist claimed he was “mounted” by a dog before adding, “Other Palestinian prisoners and human rights monitors have also cited reports of police dogs being coached to rape prisoners.”
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The article drew backlash from readers and the Israeli government, which has threatened a lawsuit against The Times. Some commentators called the article into question, noting that several figures whom Kristof interviewed had ties to anti-Israel activism.
Protesters stood inside NYPD barricades during a May protest holding signs that read “Shame on The New York Times for publishing anti-Zionist libels” and “The New York Times: All the blood libel that’s fit to print.” The Times defended the piece, saying it was “backed by independent studies,” and rejected the notion that the article would be retracted.
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Digital’s Rachel Wolf, Adam Pack and Bonny Chu contributed to this report.
