The New York Times is being mocked online after a letter it reported on, from Michigan voters backing Democrat Abdul El-Sayed for Senate, turned out to include a signer listed as "Jack Mehoff," according to the New York Post.
The Times reported on Sept. 17 that the letter was signed by "more than 500 people who identify as Jewish leaders or voters" in Michigan. The story linked to a public Google Doc run by a group called Michigan Jews for Democracy, which the El-Sayed campaign promoted the same day.
The name appears at No. 403 on the alphabetical list. The Post said records it reviewed show someone named Jack Mehoff living on campus at Michigan State University, and the university did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Washington Free Beacon reporter Jon Levine flagged the name on Election Day morning. "The New York Times will openly and without shame publish a list of 'Jews for Abdul,' which includes the name 'Jack Mehoff' and then completely ignore that this fatally compromises the whole story and just power through it," he wrote on X.
Critics noted that anyone could add a name through the group's open online form, Mediaite reported. Hundreds of signers gave only a first name and last initial, according to the Post.
The list does include real public figures, among them Michigan attorney general nominee Eli Savit and former congressman Sander Levin and his son, former congressman Andy Levin. The Times said it confirmed that the people specifically named in its story did in fact sign.
Times spokesman Charlie Stadtlander said the September story was one of several looking at El-Sayed's relationship with Jewish and Democratic voters. He said the paper found the letter newsworthy because of the notable people who signed it, and that the story also highlighted a rival letter backing Republican Mike Rogers.
That rival group, Michigan Jews Against Extremism, said it verified its signers by email and checked their Michigan residency. Its list had 561 names as of Tuesday.
As of Tuesday, the Times had not issued a correction, Townhall and the Daily Wire reported. Neither Michigan Jews for Democracy nor the El-Sayed campaign immediately responded to the Post's requests for comment.
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