The New York Times accused Ben Shapiro of trying to “stoke outrage” after The Daily Wire host criticized the newspaper for prominently featuring stories about Islamophobia on the 25th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks.
“If you were an alien who landed on Earth this morning, and you were reading the top headlines on the NYT’s webpage, you would immediately assume that 9/11 was an attack on Muslims,” Shapiro wrote on X.
The Times responded directly, calling Shapiro’s post “a disingenuous attempt to seek attention and stoke outrage by misrepresenting The New York Times’s journalism.”
This misleading statement is nothing more than a disingenuous attempt to seek attention and stoke outrage by misrepresenting The New York Times’s journalism covering the anniversary and commemoration of the Sept. 11 attacks. In the 25 years since that day, we have led the way on… pic.twitter.com/varsZ83uv7
— NYTimes Communications (@NYTimesPR) September 11, 2026
“In the 25 years since that day, we have led the way on reporting on the event, its human toll, and resulting societal shifts,” the Times X account added.
Shapiro was unimpressed.
“Are you f***ing kidding me right now?” he responded. “This was the top of your homepage about three hours ago.”
Are you f***ing kidding me right now? This was the top of your homepage about three hours ago. https://t.co/Lold1CAiHK pic.twitter.com/zVzS6DZ7Vw
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) September 11, 2026
The story drawing Shapiro’s criticism was headlined “Facing Islamophobia, Mamdani Keeps Focus on 9/11 Victims,” and it focused heavily on New York City Democratic Mayor Zohran Mamdani, the city’s first Muslim mayor, and the alleged backlash he has faced because of his religion.
The Times described Mamdani as having to navigate “a delicate dynamic” because he is both New York’s mayor and a Muslim, and quoted Muslim community leaders discussing what they characterized as continuing anti-Muslim hostility. The article was published at the top of the Times’ website Friday morning alongside the paper’s broader 25th-anniversary coverage.
The article documented Mamdani’s appearances at 9/11 memorial events and his efforts to honor victims and survivors. But it also devoted substantial attention to Islamophobia, quoting Husein Yatabarry, executive director of the Muslim Community Network, claiming there is “a right-wing angst to bring back that level of Islamophobia against prominent Muslims in political life.”
The piece cited Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, who lost his nephew in the September 11 attacks and has called Mamdani “un-American.” It also highlighted a social media post from Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) that juxtaposed an image of Mamdani at an iftar dinner with an image of the burning World Trade Center.
“The enemy is inside the gates,” Tuberville wrote.
Conservative pundit Stephen L. Miller also posted a screenshot of the Times’ homepage without adding any commentary. The newspaper responded with the same statement it had sent Shapiro.
The New York Times on 9/11. pic.twitter.com/kTeQMPmqtS
— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) September 11, 2026
“Highlighting what the New York Times chooses to publish on 9/11 is divisive and disingenuous, but the pieces themselves are not divisive and disingenuous according to the New York Times,” Miller responded.
“I didn’t editorialize, or put up an opinion,” he later added. “I simply posted what the New York Times chose to publish on 9/11. And the NY Times Comms is struggling with it.”
Another Times article, “After 9/11, Islamophobia Shaped a Generation of Muslim New Yorkers,” focused on the alleged backlash experienced by Muslim Americans after the attacks and the subsequent growth of Muslim political and civic organizations in New York.
The Times defended its coverage as a “deep and diverse set of journalism” about the anniversary.
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