The New York Instances revealed a narrative pushing the concept that assist for President Donald Trump from a younger Black man was natural, however the paper hid a key truth from its readers.
On Thursday evening, I learn the story headlined “What 11 Black Voters Think About Trump’s Actions in His First Month.” A kind of voters is Javon Evans, whom the Instances merely recognized as an “artificial intelligence start-up worker in Houston” who “grew up in a politically diverse family on Long Island and moved to Texas after college in 2021.”
“I think the first month has been excellent,” Evans instructed the outlet, which talked about that he supported Trump’s actions to roll again pro-diversity efforts.
The quote set off pink flags for me. I’ve coated politics and media points for a very long time, and the way in which during which Evans was positioned—completely reflecting what conservatives and the mainstream media insist is an correct portrayal of how Black folks relate to conservatism—didn’t sit proper with me.
I googled Evans’ identify and “Trump,” not anticipating to search out something. In spite of everything, there are Black people who find themselves Republicans and voted for Trump. They exist.
However most of them aren’t partisan operatives. And Javon Evans is. On the very first web page of Google outcomes for Evans is his X profile. His profile identifies him because the communications director for the Houston Younger Republicans.
A couple of Google outcomes under that led to the Fb web page for the Houston Younger Republicans, the place a fast have a look at their images reveals a put up displaying their 2025 government board. Marked very clearly is Javon Evans because the group’s communications director.
I posted my findings to my Bluesky account on Thursday simply after 10 PM ET. I didn’t have affirmation that the Instances’ Javon Evans and the Houston Younger Republicans’ Javon Evans had been the identical individual, however the Instances has a well-documented historical past of passing off Republican operatives as simply common residents.
I checked the Instances story on Friday morning, solely to search out that it had been altered. The story now notes that Evans “is the communications director for Houston Young Republicans.”
Apart from a dateline studying “Updated Feb. 21, 2025, 10:37 a.m. ET,” the story doesn’t point out what was modified. There is no such thing as a correction discover. The Instances’ stealth edit considerably alters the impression of the part on Evans and calls into query the article’s general credibility.
However the Instances hasn’t bothered to tell its readers about any of this.
Tales like this distort necessary points affecting the lives of not simply Black Individuals but additionally all Individuals. Trump is trying to roll again most of the civil rights features that individuals died to safe for future generations. He’s attacking variety in training, the armed forces, the civil service, and a number of different aspects of American life.
Presenting the views of a partisan operative—significantly one who’s Black—with out context helps to present Trump a permission slip to additional erode these features.
Trump is an unrepentant racist who has stated Black immigrants come from “shithole” nations. He has praised police brutality and known as for the killing of harmless younger Black males. Black voters largely don’t assist Trump. Within the 2024 election, he acquired solely 13% of the Black vote and did even worse amongst Black ladies, with solely 7% voting for him, in line with exit polls.
Evans’ views don’t characterize these of even half of the Black citizens, however the Instances has proven through the years a steadfast dedication to presenting “both sides” to points that don’t have two equally distinct factors of view. It’s the identical mindset that led the put up to endlessly harp on Hillary Clinton’s emails and Joe Biden’s age whereas giving quick shrift to issues about Trump’s bigotry, corruption, and decaying thoughts.
The New York Instances’ slogan is “All the News That’s Fit to Print,” however on this occasion and too many others, that information pushes right-wing propaganda. And once they get caught, they attempt to clear up the proof and fake nothing occurred.
