The media uses many techniques to try to disguise its biases. An “appeal to authority” works well when the “expert” chosen to comment believes exactly how the Times feels about the issue.
Perhaps the most effective propaganda ploy is the “Man on the Street” interview. In this scenario, a reporter grabs several “unsuspecting” passers-by and asks them to comment on the issue being discussed. Or, as in the case with the article “Many Jewish Voters Back Mamdani and Many Agree With Him on Gaza,” the “man in the street” is carefully chosen to reflect the bias.
The New York Times is trying to get avowed “democratic” socialist Zohran Mandami elected mayor of the city. His problem is that New York City’s 1.3 million Jewish residents have an issue with the pro-Palestinian, pro-Hamas sympathizer.
The Times tells us that’s simply not true. The paper ran a softball piece on Mamdani that included quotes from eight Jewish residents of the city.
Of the 8 people this article quoted, 5 spoke positively about Mamdani. Of those, 2 were part of his campaign. Another 2 are from the anti-Israel Jewish Voice for Peace and JFREJ groups that already support Mamdani. The 5th ranked Lander ahead of him.
I think the New York Times… pic.twitter.com/0t5r8jgMab
— Hen Mazzig (@HenMazzig) August 4, 2025
It’s unusual for any publication to so blatantly put their thumb on the scale to get the desired outcome for a propaganda piece. Outlets like the Times are usually more subtle.
Not this time.
In the piece, titled “Many Jewish Voters Back Mamdani. And Many Agree With Him on Gaza,” the Times admitted, “It is difficult to determine how many Jewish voters supported Mr. Mamdani,” and acknowledged, “Neighborhoods with large numbers of Orthodox Jewish residents voted overwhelmingly for Mr. Cuomo. He also won other heavily Jewish areas like Riverdale in the Bronx. Still, the Times deflected, stating, “But Mr. Mamdani enjoyed a broad victory that suggests at least some backing from many different constituencies.”
To buttress their claim of significant Jewish support for Mamdani, the Times quoted a pro-Mamdani Manhattan bike mechanic who works as a canvasser for Mamdani, another canvasser for Mamdani, Mamdani’s communications director, a woman who attended an event for Jews for Racial and Economic Justice, a leftist group supporting Mamdani, a woman who said even Jews mad at Mamdani for his remarks — which have included, as the Times noted, his endorsement of the view that Israel is conducting a genocide — would say they “couldn’t stand the Israeli government,” and a woman rabbi from a leftist Jewish Reform synagogue.
Rabbi Marc Schneier, the founding senior rabbi of the Hampton Synagogue, said “Mamdani’s election is the greatest existential threat to a metropolitan Jewish population since the election of the notorious antisemite Karl Lueger in Vienna. Jewish leaders must come together as a united force to prevent a mass Jewish exodus from New York City.”
The Times has had a “Jewish problem” since burying news of the Holocaust in the 20th century. Just recently, the Times was forced to issue an embarrassing correction about a child dying of starvation because the meanie Jews were refusing to feed him. It turns out that the child was suffering from several other maladies unrelated to starvation, leading to the correction.
The Jewish Council for Public Affairs researched 107 editorials on Israel and Jews published in the Times since 2016; David Bernstein, president and CEO of the organization, accused the Times of “a decided institutional bias” against Israel. Roughly a decade ago, the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting and Analysis (CAMERA) published a pamphlet titled “Indicting Israel: New York Times Coverage of the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict,” that delineated the Times’ consistent bias against Israel.
So, the Times’ astroturfing is not unusual at all. In this case, they weren’t very creative about it.
Editor’s Note: Zohran Mamdani is an avowed Democratic Socialist and has a real chance to become the next mayor of New York City.
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