Former New York Mayor Invoice de Blasio mentioned Tuesday that The Occasions, a British newspaper, ran an “fully false and fabricated” interview with him criticizing Zohran Mamdani, and that he’s by no means communicated with the story’s creator.
“It was simply delivered to my consideration and I’m appalled. I by no means spoke to that reporter and by no means mentioned these issues. These quotes aren’t mine, don’t replicate my views,” de Blasio, who endorsed Mamdani, New York Metropolis’s Democratic nominee for mayor, over a month in the past, wrote on social media.
The story in The Occasions has since been taken down.
In a press release to The New York Occasions, the newspaper said somebody had been impersonating de Blasio.
“The Occasions has apologised to Invoice de Blasio and eliminated the article instantly after discovering that our reporter had been misled by a person falsely claiming to be the previous New York mayor,” the assertion mentioned.
Neither the newspaper nor the story’s creator, senior reporter Bevan Hurley, instantly responded to JS’s requests for additional touch upon the matter.
The story featured a stunning quote attributed to de Blasio about the price of Mamdani’s coverage proposals.
“Whereas the ambition is admirable, the price estimates —reportedly exceeding $7 billion yearly — relaxation on optimistic assumptions… about eliminating waste and elevating income by means of new taxes,” learn quotes that The Occasions attributed to the previous mayor. “For my part, the mathematics doesn’t maintain up beneath scrutiny, and the political hurdles are substantial.”
In a second put up, de Blasio demanded The Occasions “pull down this story instantly,” calling it “an absolute violation of journalistic ethics.”
“The reality is I absolutely help [Mamdani] and consider his imaginative and prescient is each vital and achievable,” de Blasio wrote.
The story was shortly picked up by the New York Submit, which has been publishing every day Mamdani hit items. The story led with The Occasions’ quotes, solely together with de Blasio’s denial a number of paragraphs in. The story and its headline had been later altered to be about de Blasio refuting the quotes, however not earlier than a Cuomo spokesperson shared it on X, saying: “Famous fiscal hawk Invoice de Blasio will get round to studying [Mamdani’s] tremendous print (simply kidding, there isn’t any tremendous print, simply glitter and vibes.)”
Hurley has revealed different tales highlighting criticism of Mamdani, together with one vaguely titled “Mamdani accused of ‘stoking antisemitic hate’ in NYC mayoral debate.” That quote by no means seems within the story, although it appears to be a paraphrasing of feedback from Mamdani’s opponent, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who accused his rival of “stoking the flames of hatred in opposition to Jewish folks.”
