Bizarro World: How the NYT erases Islamist terrorism
More than 100,000 headlines without a single mention of the global deadly movement
Even before the Hanukkah massacre in Australia, I was exploring a question for the latest episode of They Stand Corrected.
Throughout this year, like every year, Islamist terrorists have slaughtered people all over the world — from the Middle East to Asia, Europe, Africa and right here in the United States. Islamist terrorism is one of the biggest stories of our time.
How many New York Times headlines have discussed it? Given the Times’ many platforms, it generates easily more than 100,000 each year. The vast majority of readers only read headlines. Headlines are news.
I have a tool that allows me to search headlines. As I report in the new episode, the Times has had ZERO headlines in all of 2025 acknowledging that Islamist terrorism exists.
That’s only the beginning. The Times has had thousands of headlines reporting what Islamist terrorists say as fact. Hamas and its backer Iran claim anything about Israel, and the Times reports it as though it must be accurate. For example, hear how the Times smothers death toll reports from the Russia-Ukraine war in context and caveats, while citing Hamas’ “death toll” claims with zero attribution.
Yes, in the Bizarro World of headlines the Times sees “fit to print,” Islamist terrorists don’t actually carry out acts of terrorism, and are trustworthy sources of truth.
It’s not just the Times. From this episode:
“How about the Associated Press? I’ve explained here they might be the most impactful news agency based in the United States. How many headlines did they have? One. Well, they had one that said something had been ‘labeled Islamic terrorism.’ So technically, even that headline didn’t acknowledge the existence of Islamist terrorism worldwide.
Even when you look for stories themselves, there are almost none that use the term. And the AP also regularly reports claims of Islamist terrorists as though they are facts.
This is how you radicalize people. This is the time we’re living in. So it’s not shocking when radicalized people act out with violence.”
I also talk you through how the Times’ initial coverage of the Bondi massacre.
“I have a big New York Times story open in front of me, and separately I have their email newsletter that goes out to a ton of people. It’s a long write up. There is not one mention of Islam or anything similar. They say authorities call it a terrorist attack, but there’s no word on the ideology.
Here’s how this should work: Sure, until authorities come forward with the ideology of the attackers, you can’t definitively state that this attack was Islamist. But you can, should, and journalistically must state that this attack comes amid rising Islamist terrorism and calls by Islamist terrorists to kill Jews.
You have to report that. Truth equals facts plus context. That’s context.”
It’s the norm for mainstream media. In Episode 83, I explained that CNN put together long stories about deadly blasts in India and Pakistan — without mentioning once that Islamist terrorist groups claimed responsibility for both.
Also in the new episode:
Disturbing, but must-hear, sound from the Hanukkah massacre
Heroes, both Jewish and Muslim, you aren’t hearing about in the news
An Australian TV host explains what’s happened to Big Media there
and more.
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