Times of London Editor Calls de Blasio Mishap ‘Humiliating’ in Email to Staff

AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall

A Times of London editor called a reporter being duped by a fake Bill de Blasio “humiliating” for the company in an email to staff, which noted the “serious damage” done to the Rupert Murdoch-owned paper.

“We should have been on our guard. We should have tried much harder to speak to the people concerned. There are no excuses,” Times associate editor Ian Brunskill told the company, according to an email obtained by Deadline.

The statement also referenced an “AI-generated case study” on a fake royal household employee when Brunskill mentioned the paper’s reputation had taken damage in recent weeks.

Check out the full email below, per Deadline:

Twice in the past few weeks we’ve been caught out by fake interviews. One involved a bogus Al-generated case study provided by a dubious PR outfit, the other a fake email purporting to come from a high-profile figure in US politics.

The first hoax (which others fell for too) prompted not just ridicule but calls for the press regulator to launch a full investigation into standards. The second (our own “exclusive”, alas) led to a widely reported retraction and apology.

Both humiliating episodes did serious damage to our reputation. Both could have been avoided by good practice and due diligence.

There were red flags. An unknown PR company with no telephone number offering to put us in touch with an unknown “expert” who could be interviewed only via email was one. A well-known public figure expressing a view completely at odds with his previous statements, and doing it from a personal Gmail address, was another.

We should have been on our guard. We should have tried much harder to speak to the people concerned. If that’s not possible, why not? We – reporters and editors – should be asking: Who is telling me this and why? How do I know they’re who they say they are? How plausible is what I’m being told? What can I do to check?

Those questions are absolutely basic. Asking them should be second nature to anyone working for a paper with a long history of trusted reporting. There are no excuses. As a condition of employment, we’re bound by the Editors’ Code. It requires us to take care to avoid inaccuracy. If there’s a complaint, Ipso [Independent Press Standards Organisation] will expect us to show precisely what taking care involved. We can’t afford to be fooled.

Former New York City Mayor de Blasio called out the Times’ story shortly after it was published, and the paper scrapped the article and admitted their reporter had been “misled.”

“I want to be 100% clear: The story in the Times of London is entirely false and fabricated. It was just brought to my attention and I’m appalled,” De Blasio wrote on X.

In the false story, the fake de Blasio said the “math doesn’t hold up under scrutiny” when it comes to the policies of New York City Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, a self-described Democratic socialist. Mamdani is leading in polls against former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa ahead of the November 4 election.

“The truth is I fully support [Zohran Mamdani] and believe his vision is both necessary and achievable,” the actual de Blasio said.

The “de Blasio” that reporter Bevan Hurley actually spoke to was Long Island wine importer Bill DeBlasio, who told Semafor, “I never once said I was the mayor. He never addressed me as the mayor. So I just gave him my opinion.”