The New York Times Exaggerated COVID, Misled Its Readers On Masks: Report

The misinformation always goes one way

There were any number of inexcusable decisions made during the COVID-19 pandemic. Politicians made indefensible policy choices, forcing two-year-olds to wear masks and millions to show proof of vaccination to engage in necessary every day activities. 

Those decisions were informed by "experts," who frequently made unsupported assertions and claimed to represent "science" while ignoring contradictory data and evidence. Teachers unions colluded with their political partners at the CDC to keep children out of school, all while other countries showed that schools could open safely. There's plenty of blame to go around.

It's hard to apportion that blame when there's so much of it to go around. Especially considering the many individuals and institutions who failed in such spectacular fashion. But much of the justified ire towards those people and institutions should be reserved for the media. 

After decades of eroding trust in traditional media sources, those formerly reputable outlets during COVID took a blowtorch to whatever remaining shreds of credibility they had left. Few were worse than The New York Times. It was clear to outside observers that The Times made an editorial decision to lean fully into expert-derived COVID misinformation: schools must close, masks must be worn, any and all extremism in a futile attempt to combat an infectious respiratory virus was justifiable.

Now, thanks to a new report, we have data on just how bad the Times' coverage was. And how much damage they likely caused.

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