NY Times sued by Florida pension fund over Israel coverage after whistleblower complaint

Florida's state-administered public pension fund, represented by Republican Attorney General James Uthmeier, sued the New York Times on Wednesday, demanding access to its books and records to assess whether the newspaper adheres to its editorial standards regarding Israel coverage. The lawsuit was filed in a New York state court by the State Board of Administration of Florida on behalf of the Florida Retirement System Trust Fund, which is also a shareholder of the New York Times. According to an unnamed whistleblower, the newspaper brushed off complaints about anti-Israel bias, with HR representatives suggesting that employees find "a place whose values align with yours" if they disagreed with internal policies. The suit claims that repeated publication of false or baseless assertions supports an inference of editorial standards being compromised for personal agendas. Shareholders argue this damages both the newspaper's reputation and economic viability, requesting a judge to force the board to produce internal records concerning coverage of the Israel-Hamas conflict since 2019.