The New York Times reports that an academic at Yale was not linked to a terror group.
The terror group disagrees.
Helyeh Doutaghi, a scholar in international law, began a new job in 2023 as the deputy director of a project at Yale Law School.As an activist who had championed pro-Palestinian causes in both published papers and public appearances, Dr. Doutaghi seemed to fit into the left-leaning mission of the Law and Political Economy Project, which promoted itself as working for “economic, racial and gender equality.”Last week, though, she was abruptly barred from Yale’s campus in New Haven, Conn., and placed on administrative leave. She was told not to advertise her affiliation with the university, where she had also served as an associate research scholar.Yale officials cited the reason as allegations that she was tied to entities subject to U.S. sanctions. It was an apparent reference to Samidoun, a pro-Palestinian group placed on the U.S. sanctions list last year, after the Treasury Department designated it a “sham charity” raising money for a terrorist organization, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.The decision came three days after a news site, powered at least in part by artificial intelligence, published a story about Dr. Doutaghi’s connections to the group.The news site called her a member of a terrorist group, citing postings referring to appearances she made on panels at Samidoun-sponsored events, but a lawyer for Dr. Doutaghi said she is not a member of Samidoun, a global organization that sponsors meetings and protests supporting Palestinian causes.In an interview, Dr. Doutaghi, 30, called herself a “loud and proud” supporter of Palestinian rights. “I am a scholar,” she said, adding, “I am not a member of any organization that would constitute a violation of U.S. law.”
Dr. Doutaghi said the actions against her are part of an attempt to silence scholars. “This is the type of thing that happens under fascist dictatorships, which Donald Trump is trying to establish,” she said in the interview.The article about Dr. Doutaghi was published on March 2 on Jewish Onliner. On its website and on Substack, Jewish Onliner says it is “empowered by A.I. capabilities.” It does not identify any reporters on its site.
Doutaghi refers to herself as a "scholar" and the NYT accepts that without question. She denies having anything to do with any terror group and the NYT accepts that without question. It describes her as championing pro-Palestinian causes and implies that any accusation that she harbors terrorist sympathies is a scurrilous, AI-generated lie.
What the "newspaper of record" doesn't do is the least amount of fact checking.
It took me seconds to Google Doutaghi to find out that she not only spoke at Samidoun sponsored activities, but Samidoun says that she is a member of the organization - which is, by itself, enough for Yale to want to distance itself from her.
The U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control OFAC designated Samidoun as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) entity acting for the PFLP (an FTO) in October 2024, (under the Biden administration). Any affiliation with Samidoun could expose Yale itself to sanctions under Executive Order 13224. This includes blocking assets or prohibiting transactions with SDGTs. By suspending Doutaghi and barring her from campus, Yale minimizes the risk of being seen as facilitating her alleged activities. For its own protection, Yale must prohibit her from using its name or resources and conduct an internal review to ensure no ties to Samidoun, minimizing its legal and reputational risks.
It might even be worse than that.
And what did she post on October 7 2023, in response to a Hamas pogrom of rapes, murders, burning families alive, kidnapping and taking dead bodies hostage?
She called it "decolonization."
This further could expose Doutaghi to charges that she provides material support for Hamas, not just the PFLP through Samidoun. Even if she improbably quit Samidoun before it was designated, her support for Hamas terrorism also can put Yale at risk. It might be a high bar to prove given freedom of speech, but Yale Law School has to protect itself. It is not only reasonable to suspend Doutaghi - it is the only thing it can do to protect itself.
You wouldn't know any of this if you only read the New York Times.
Why couldn't the NYT find these posts and articles that took me only minutes?
Because it doesn't want to. It chose a position and only researched what supported that position. This is how bias works, and we've seen it countless times - the narrative is created before the story, and only the facts that fit are worth researching and reporting.
Indeed, the AI newspaper that reported that Doughati was a supporter of terror and member of Samidoun was more accurate and did a better job of reporting than the New York Times does.
This is really two stories.
It is a story about an academic at Yale who not only supports terror but is even a member of a Specially Designated Global Terrorist entity.
And it is a story about the most prestigious newspaper in America deciding to trivialize, ignore or whitewash any evidence that an Ivy League law school acted properly.
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