More Fake News: New York Times Calls Bannon ‘White Nationalist’

The New York Times has run yet another fake news article — this time, an “explainer” about “white nationalism” that features a photograph of Breitbart News Executive Chairman Stephen K. Bannon under the headline “White Nationalism, Explained.”

Bannon is not a “white nationalist.” In fact, he is not a racist at all, a fact attested to by everyone who has worked with him, including the diverse staff at Breitbart News.

In two separate interviews conducted since Bannon — on leave from Breitbart — was appointed Chief Strategist and Senior Counselor to President-elect Donald J. Trump, Bannon has made his views explicit.

“I’m not a white nationalist, I’m a nationalist. I’m an economic nationalist,” he told Michael Wolff of the Hollywood Reporter.

Likewise, he told Kimberly A. Strassel of the Wall Street Journal: “I’ve never been a supporter of ethno-nationalism.”

And yet the Times presents Bannon as Exhibit A in “white nationalism.” The article’s left-wing author, Amanda Taub, reports the following in the text itself (the portion emphasized also appears in the caption underneath the photograph of Bannon):

Mr. Trump’s appointment of Mr. Bannon as his senior counselor and chief West Wing strategist has, more than anything, brought white nationalism to the forefront of conversation. He is the former editor of Breitbart News, a site he described in August to Mother Jones as “the platform of the alt-right.” Although the alt-right is ideologically broader than white nationalism — it also includes neoreactionaries, monarchists, and meme-loving internet trolls — white nationalism makes up a significant part of its appeal.

Note that Taub is careful not to say directly that Bannon is a “white nationalist” — because he is not, and she likely knows it. However, she leads readers to draw that conclusion, and leaves out anything that Bannon, or Breitbart, said to the contrary.

Taub’s article is the second “fake news” item on this topic in the past 24 hours. A front-page article by Joseph Goldstein on Monday claimed, falsely, that Breitbart “fed the lie that Mr. Obama is a Kenyan-born Muslim,” among other false claims.

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News. His new book, See No Evil: 19 Hard Truths the Left Can’t Handle, is available from Regnery through Amazon. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.