Florida Pension Fund Sues New York Times Over Israel Coverage

The State Board of Administration of Florida and the National Center for Public Policy Research filed a shareholder lawsuit against The New York Times Company in the New York County Supreme Court on September 23, 2026. The plaintiffs, who hold a stake in the company through Florida's public pension fund, are seeking a court order to compel the release of internal books and records, including board agendas and calendars.

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, acting as legal counsel for the pension fund, alleges that a lack of board-level oversight has allowed journalistic standards to be "weaponized" to promote biased coverage against Israel during the Israel-Hamas war. The suit claims this bias has damaged the company's credibility and economic value. The filing cites a former employee who allegedly reported antisemitism and anti-Israel bias to management 15 times between 2019 and March 2026, as well as an October 2023 article that the newspaper later admitted relied too heavily on Hamas claims.

The New York Times Company has rejected the allegations, describing the lawsuit as a "transparent attempt to exert agenda-driven pressure" and an effort to chill journalism protected by the First Amendment. The legal action follows several months of rejected requests for records sent by Uthmeier to the company's board.