Over 100 pro-Palestine protesters were arrested on Thursday for swarming The New York Times headquarters in midtown Manhattan several hours after surrounding the paper’s printing facilities in Queens, according to ABC7 News.
Organised by the Palestinian Youth Movement, the 150-strong group were protesting over the left-leaning paper’s coverage of Israel’s offensive in Gaza.
The demonstrators held signs that read “Lies” in the Times’ trademark font, chanted “New York Times you can’t hide, we charge you with genocide,” and handed out fake versions of the paper retitled “New York War Crimes.”
— Gerard (@GerardDalbon)
March 14, 2024
The parody paper’s website features articles by pro-Palestine writers and activists, with one article that says: “And then you have The New York Times pumping out nonsense: whatever it is that the Israeli military spokesman or Netanyahu’s media person wants the story of the day to be. So, the International Court of Justice is meeting, and the rape story is released. Whatever is happening, a story gets released by Israel and fed to this outlet, such that this is the story that hits the front page – rather than whatever it is Israel wants to cover up.”
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“Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians,” another article read. “The New York Times, however, would like its readers to believe that this is not the case. The Times presents the dead as the unfortunate toll of a just war to rid the world of evil.”
According to the NYPD, 124 of the protesters were taken into custody for disorderly conduct.
The incident came just hours after demonstrators blocked trucks from entering the Times’ printing facility in Queens by obstructing the roads with debris at around 1am, according to ABC7. They held signs that read: "Stop the presses. Free Palestine" and "Consent for genocide is manufactured here.”
The disruption at the facility responsible for printing the New York Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, Newsday, and the New York Post stopped dozens of trucks from picking up newspapers and created a gridlock on surrounding streets. Protesters finally dispersed at around 3:30am.
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According to a statement released by the Times, readers should expect "minimal disruption from the protest.
"The Israel-Hamas war is a complex and challenging story, and we receive criticism from each side. We are open to good-faith disagreement but firmly reject any assertion that our coverage displays bias. We support the rights for groups and individuals to express their point of view, even when we disagree with it as it relates to our coverage, but will not let critics or advocacy campaigns sway us from independent reporting."
The anti-Israeli parody of the NYT, containing claims that Israeli accounts of rape were a "lie", that was handed out at the protest on Thursday[Missing Credit]
