Every election cycle, the New York Times runs the same story about how Russian bots are trying to sow distrust and influence the outcome of the races. This Russian-meddling narrative has been an omnipresent force in American politics since 2016.
There’s nothing inherently untrue about these pieces. The Russians are indeed trying to muck around in our politics. But they haven’t been very successful. At best, they’ve had a minuscule impact on the results of our elections.
So why does the Gray Lady keep replaying the same hackneyed hits? While it’s impossible to impute their motives, one can’t help but wonder whether the Times itself is attempting to cast doubt on the validity of an election in which the Republicans are widely expected to score a major victory.
If this is true, it should be the source of serious introspection. NYT is constantly sounding the alarm bells about election denialism on the right. Failing to hold themselves to the same standard smacks of hypocrisy. Of course, who could put it past them?