The Times of London has retracted an article after admitting it was deceived by someone posing as former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio. The piece, published Tuesday, falsely quoted de Blasio criticizing Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani — remarks the former mayor insists he never made.
“I want to be 100% clear: The story in the Times of London is entirely false and fabricated. It was just brought to my attention and I’m appalled,” de Blasio wrote on X.
The article in question claimed “ally” de Blasio said New York City Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani’s politics “don’t add up.”
“I never spoke to that reporter and never said those things. Those quotes aren’t mine, don’t reflect my views,” de Blasio wrote.
The story was yanked just two hours after its publication. (RELATED: Republicans Propose Move to ‘Denaturalize’ Zohran Mamdani)
The paper, which is owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp, acknowledged the error after being contacted by de Blasio’s team. “The Times has apologised to Bill de Blasio and removed the article immediately after discovering that our reporter had been misled by an individual falsely claiming to be the former New York mayor,” the outlet said in a statement to The New York Times’ Emma G. Fitzsimmons.
“The Times has apologised to Bill de Blasio and removed the article immediately after discovering that our reporter had been misled by an individual falsely claiming to be the former New York mayor,” the statement reads.
“In my view, the math doesn’t hold up under scrutiny, and the political hurdles are substantial,” the fake De Blasio told the paper.
The actual de Blasio said he actually believes Mamdani’s policies are all “achievable.”
“I demand [The Times] pull down this story immediately. It is an absolute violation of journalistic ethics,” he wrote. “The truth is I fully support [Zohran Mamdani] and believe his vision is both necessary and achievable.”
Good Dems fall for own Con Game