New York Times Responds After Zohran Mamdani Story Stirs Liberal Backlash

Patrick Healy, assistant managing editor for Standards and Trust at The New York Times, posted a lengthy thread on X, formerly Twitter, explaining the newspaper’s controversial story on mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani‘s 2009 application to Columbia University.

On Thursday, the Times published a report citing hacked Columbia documents that revealed the New York Democratic mayoral nominee identified as “Black or African American” on his college application. Mamdani, who is of South Asian heritage, was born in Uganda, where his family had lived for approximately a century, according to the article.

The decision to publish the Mamdani story, which was acquired via hacked information from a source, sparked liberal backlash on social media.

Healy, in an 11-post thread, said in part, “Times journalists for decades have done deep reporting on major party nominees for New York’s mayor to provide insight, context and texture about their priorities, history and evolution. Our reporting helps readers better understand how candidates think and what they believe.”

Digital Forensics: Why It Matters

Mamdani, 33, is a New York state assemblyman who was born in Uganda to Indian parents. He has lived in New York City since age 7 and became a U.S. citizen in 2018.

In the lead-up to New York City’s 2025 Democratic mayoral primary, the Times editorial board issued a pointed critique of candidate Mamdani. While the news outlet had previously announced it would cease endorsing candidates outside presidential races, the board’s editorial effectively served as an anti-endorsement.

They questioned Mamdani’s qualifications, citing his limited experience in managing large organizations and likening his progressive agenda to an intensified version of former Mayor Bill de Blasio‘s policies. Despite acknowledging concerns about Democratic challenger and former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo‘s ethics, the board suggested he would be a more suitable choice than Mamdani.

In the primary, Mamdani faced challenges garnering support from Black voters, a demographic that largely favored Cuomo. Polls indicated that Cuomo led Mamdani among Black voters by a significant margin, with one survey showing the former governor at 59 percent support compared to Mamdani’s 26 percent.

The political upstart will now take on New York City Mayor Eric Adams, who is Black, and running as an independent. Cuomo is also staying in the race, for now, as he mulls an independent or third-party run.

Digital Forensics: What To Know

The Times granted anonymity to the individual, who goes by the name Crémieux on Substack and X. The source who provided the hacked materials is described in the report as a person “who opposes affirmative action and writes often about I.Q. and race.”

On June 30, Crémieux posted on X, “This story has been picked up by a major national news outlet. If they don’t publish it, I will, but I think they’re going to go ahead with it. I won’t be making further comments until then.”

In 2024, the Times, along with other prominent national publications, didn’t publish hacked information it had acquired about Donald Trump’s campaign from an alleged Iranian hacking operation.

During last year’s presidential campaign, the Times, along with other publications, were given a leaked dossier on JD Vance, then-Republican vice presidential nominee, compiled by the Trump campaign. But the paper chose not to publish its contents. That decision stood in contrast to its approach in 2016, when the Times reported on hacked campaign emails from John Podesta, who was serving as Hillary Clinton’s campaign chairman at the time.

Franklin Leonard, film/TV producer and liberal cultural commentator, wrote on X, “So apparently the New York Times now considers hacked information as legitimately reportable. (Also this story is explicitly designed to isolate Mamdani from the Black community based on his too smart for his own good decisions as an 18 year old. And he didn’t even get in.)”

The Tennessee Holler, a progressive news outlet, wrote on X, “So the @nytimes tried to slime Zohran using hacked materials given to them by an admitted race scientist/eugenicist who they kept anonymous even though he is publicly known — about races he checked on an application to a school he didn’t get into? Pathetic. A scandal in itself.”

The post by Healy of the Times continued, “On sourcing, we work to give readers context, including in this case the initial source’s online alias, as a way to learn more about the person, who was effectively an intermediary. The ultimate source was Columbia admissions data and Mr. Mamdani, who confirmed our reporting.”

He added, “We heard from readers who wanted more detail about this initial source. That’s fair feedback. We printed his online alias so readers could learn more about the person. The purpose of this story was to help illuminate the thinking and background of a major mayoral candidate.”

“Sometimes sources have their own motives or obtain information using means we wouldn’t, like Trump’s taxes, Wikileaks or Edward Snowden. It’s important to share what we can about sourcing, but we always independently assess newsworthiness and factual accuracy before publishing.”

Digital Forensics: What Zohran Mamdani Told The New York Times

Mamdani told the Times he does not identify as Black or African American, but as “an American who was born in Africa.” The Democratic socialist explained that his responses on the college application were meant to reflect the complexity of his heritage within the constraints of the available options, not to seek any advantage in the admissions process.

He was ultimately not accepted to Columbia where his father, Mahmood Mamdani, is a professor of Government and a professor of anthropology political science and African studies.

“Most college applications don’t have a box for Indian-Ugandans, so I checked multiple boxes trying to capture the fullness of my background,” Mamdani told the Times.

The application offered space for students to provide “more specific information where relevant,” Mamdani said, and that he used that section to write in “Ugandan.”

“Even though these boxes are constraining, I wanted my college application to reflect who I was,” he added to the outlet.

Digital Forensics: What Happens Next

New York City voters will return to the polls on November 4 to decide the city’s next mayor. The outcome of this race will determine the city’s trajectory on pressing issues, including housing, public safety and affordability.

As Adams and Cuomo campaign as independents, the contest is expected to draw national attention and shape the political landscape for upcoming elections.