NY Times Hunts for Leaker After Report on Nixed Podcast Episode on Hamas

The New York Times is cracking down on internal leaks after The Intercept reported how an episode of The Daily focused on Hamas’ alleged sexual violence on Oct. 7 was nixed, Vanity Fair reported Thursday. The Times has cornered multiple Daily staffers to question them on the report—an unprecedented investigation into leaks, according to the magazine. “It’s not something we do,” a Times staffer said. “That kind of witch hunt is really concerning.” The paper told Vanity Fair that it required newsroom employees to adhere to values of “trust and collaboration.” The Intercept reported last month that the newspaper pulled the episode after internal outcry over its contents, with multiple Times staffers voicing frustrations that the paper didn’t do due diligence in reporting the allegations. It also came after one of the story’s reporters, Israeli freelancer Anat Schwartz, came under fire after liking a post on X that urged Israel to turn the Gaza Strip into a “slaughterhouse.” The Times condemned Schwartz’s social-media activity and said it was reviewing the matter, as The Daily Beast previously reported.