NY Times Raced to Break Mamdani’s Columbia Application Story Before Rufo Scoop

The New York Times rushed to publish a contentious story about Zohran Mamdani, a New York City mayoral candidate, and his 2009 Columbia University application, aiming to outpace other journalists, particularly conservative activist Christopher Rufo, according to a recent report. The Times revealed that Mamdani, when applying to Columbia, marked both "Asian" and "Black or African American" on his application, a detail that sparked heated debate.

The information surfaced after a cyberattack on Columbia University exposed sensitive data, including Mamdani’s application. The Times, after confirming the details directly with Mamdani, published the story. Mamdani explained, "Most college applications don’t have a box for Indian-Ugandans, so I checked multiple boxes to capture my background." He described himself as "an American born in Africa," striving to reflect his complex identity within the rigid confines of application forms.

The report ignited a firestorm, with critics, including Times columnist Jamelle Bouie, slamming the piece. Bouie, in now-deleted social media posts, took personal shots at the reporters, later citing a violation of the Times’ social media standards. Meanwhile, a senior Times reporter defended the story, arguing its widespread discussion proved its newsworthiness.

The Times’ assistant managing editor, Patrick Healy, stood by the reporting, emphasizing that the outlet verified the information with Mamdani himself and didn’t rely solely on the hacked data. The story’s timing, however, raised eyebrows, with some suggesting the Times moved quickly to avoid being outdone by Rufo, who later praised the outlet’s journalists on X.

This saga underscores the high-stakes world of political reporting, where speed, accuracy, and narrative control collide, often exposing deeper tensions about identity and representation in public life.