The credibility of the New York Times has for quite some time now been a matter of long-past history and propaganda myth. This is another nail in the Times’ coffin. You want news of jihad activity? You can’t trust the Times. You have to come to Jihad Watch.
“Subject of NY Times podcast ‘Caliphate’ arrested for faking his ISIS past, raising questions about audio series,” by Brian Flood, Fox News, September 29, 2020:
A Canadian man who was the subject of a New York Times podcast called “Caliphate” was arrested last week for allegedly faking his past involvement with ISIS, putting the validity of the award-winning audio documentary in question.
“The charge stems from numerous media interviews where the accused, Shehroze Chaudhry, a 25-year-old from Burlington, Ontario, claimed he travelled to Syria in 2016 to join the terrorist group ISIS and committed acts of terrorism,” the Royal Canadian Mounted Police announced on Friday.
“The interviews were published in multiple media outlets, aired on podcasts and featured on a television documentary, raising public safety concerns amongst Canadians,” the RCMP continued. “Chaudhry was charged with Hoax-Terrorist activity.”
Canadian outlet Global News reported that Chaudhry used the alias Abu Huzayfah to fool the Times’ podcast “Caliphate” into thinking he was a former ISIS fighter who vividly described participating in public executions.
“The blood was just … it was warm, and it sprayed everywhere … and the guy cried, was crying and screaming,” Abu Huzayfah said in the “Caliphate” podcast, according to Global News. “It’s hard. I had to stab him multiple times. And then we put him up on a cross. And I had to leave the dagger in his heart.”
Despite the graphic but apparently false story, his academic transcript contradicted his ISIS claims, as he was a student at Pakistan’s University of Lahore when he claimed to be a terror fighter, according to the Global News.
“Caliphate” launched in 2018 and the first five installments are based on Chaudhry’s claims that are now in question. Times terror reporter Rukmini Callimachi, who is the star of “Caliphate,” defended her podcast in a series of tweets following Chaudhry’s arrest.
“Big news out of Canada: Abu Huzayfah has been arrested on a terrorist ‘hoax’ charge. The narrative tension of our podcast ‘Caliphate’ is the question of whether his account is true. In Chapter 6 we explain the conflicting strands of his story, and what we can and can’t confirm,” Callimachi wrote, noting that Chapter 6 “exposes both what we know he lied about, explores the conundrum of what to do when you discover that a source has lied, and lays out for readers what we know to be fact and equally the many things we still don’t know.”
Callimachi then listed “enduring questions” she has as a result of Chaudhry’s arrest, but Washington Post media critic Erik Wemple feels it “merely refreshes pressure on the New York Times regarding its handling of ‘Caliphate.’”…
“We dissent. The first five episodes of the series, by and large, recount Abu Huzayfah’s story with minimal skepticism from the host,” Wemple wrote. “Snippet after snippet, Callimachi heaped credibility on Abu Huzayfah.”
Wemple then pointed out that the Times did not mention any “struggle for the truth” when it described Huzayfah’s story to the Peabody Awards.
“The hoaxing charge is problematic for Callimachi and the Times,” Wemple wrote. “Huzayfah is scheduled to appear in court on Nov. 16 — plenty of time for top editors at the Times to consider how to respond if the proceedings further shred his various stories.”
DavidR says
“The NYT is looking for biased, lazy journalists who hate Republicans and Donald Trump. Integrity is discouraged.”
James Lincoln says
+1
gravenimage says
Spot on, David.
Mount Zion says
To be arrested on terrorist “hoax” charges sounds like a mild offence which most likely will not carry a havy penalty given the fact that in much more serious terroristic related charges where loss of lives where involved , like honor killings , vehicular jihad or rape of infidel women , some got off scott free while others got only mild sentences because their missdeeds were classified as a cultural practice.I’m even surprised that they have the audacity to arrest this member of a protected class isn’t that islamophobic ? Will this arrest ammount to anything ? I hope so but I don’t think so .
Giacomo Latta says
I have not read the law in question but I do know this. Real knife attacks are terrorism; attacks threatening the same are terrorism, Wearing explosive belts is terrorism; the wearing of phony explosive belts is terrorism. The law should reflect that just as waving a phony gun during a robbery is anything less than armed robbery.
Wellington says
Something to add to the infamous jihad list—hoax jihad. And so fitting since Islam is just about the biggest hoax in man’s history.
Mount Zion says
🤣
Huh!?! says
Words like absurd, idiotic, moronic, stupid all put together cannot explain or describe this incident.
Wellington says
Those same adjectives serve quite adequately as a partial description of Islam.
gravenimage says
New York Times features Muslim who claimed to be ISIS executioner, he is arrested for faking ISIS past
…………………..
Where to start?
Billy Corr says
What were this chap’s motives? Was there money in it or simply notoriety – a sort of *stolen glory* or what? Can anyone play – my wife’s slightly-unbalanced sister would be delighted to get some camera time by confessing her involvement in both Kennedy assassinations and the Sharon Tate murders.
Krishna says
I don’t know why would some one wants to pretend as isis executioner? Ive of heard fake journalists, fake holocaust survivor but fake ISIS executioner???
Grace says
Because Isis Executioners are the Flavor of The Month in the Liberal Press and the liberals eat it up.
Westman says
What’s that journalistic motto, “if it bleeds, it leads.”?
In the Times case, “If it’s fake and bleeds, that’s news fit to print, and, if it makes Trump look bad – stop the press!!”
gravenimage says
For pious Muslims this is like fake heroism.
Also, if they are debunked–as here–many will unfortunately begin to doubt *real* terrorism.
Disturbing all the way around.
Jayell says
“A Canadian man who was the subject of a New York Times podcast called “Caliphate” was arrested last week for allegedly faking his past involvement with ISIS…….”
‘Faking it’ is as bad as ‘doing it’ because it reveals the same psychopathic mentality. This specimen is a menace to humanity.
Mauricio says
What other news agencies are not worth trusting? I am aware about CNN… What about BBC?
James Lincoln says
Mauricio,
Decades ago, the BBC was the crown jewel of everything news. Top rate journalists, and news that you could trust.
It is now as bad as CNN – and the Brits have to bankroll this garbage with a “license fee”…
Mauricio says
Mr. Lincoln:
Thank you for your response. I saw a spanish BBC video terribly biased about the Trump-Biden election. Too bad they have gone this way and sorry that you have to pay for this.
wpm says
The NYT does not vet a story ,they and most MSM have sunk down to the level of reading liberal tea leaves in their empty agenda cups. Next NYT story “fake” terrorist from Canada shown to be mental ill , they blame illness on raise of “white supremacy movement ” in Canada and the United States causes him to make up tails of fighting back against the “evil racist ‘policies of both countries.
Anna Yelena says
By the looks of this POS, he doesn’t appear to be a productive member of society and most likely on the dole. Canada has allowed all these Muslims in probably without proper vetting. Canada should send him to Pakistan and if a citizen, revoke that privilege. The Cult of Mo is a scourge on this Earth.
Ben Kennedy says
This is what we must expect (and I have come to expect) when, in any so called exchange of ideas where you are communicating with someone who believes first of all, that truth is what they “wish” it to be. All the while they reject any impulse to investigate relevant data, comforting themselves that the story is in line with their desired version; “the science is settled” in their own minds.
I expect it will be a mind numbing experience for them as they now try and reassemble the shattered pieces of their broken dreams. Why? Because it impacts their entire world view and worst of all, will challenge their attitudes if they will personally allow that to happen.
C.H. Spurgeon once said; The same sun which melts wax hardens clay. Some who are directly involved in this will take a lesson from it. The rest will be hardened in their viewpoint and reject any possibility that they could have believed a lie (the lie of course is akin to a sacred truth supporting the world view they wish so fervently for). This is especially dangerous (even reckless) in National Politics as practiced by the Democratic Party and the EU Governments. The oppression of the citizens by those governments (large or small) is evident by the hideous crimes the citizen victims are suffering from.
Art says
STOLEN VALOR of a sorts…
Yeah, it is really sad when you get caught lying about being an ISIS Executioner, but he’s a Canadian Muslim which must really hurt. I mean he could have become famous by doing a knife attack or coming to the US and done some form of terrorism here, or–wait…
Talking to the NYT could be considered terrorism. I mean given all the bs they have been printing over the last 5 years…