On the 1st of July, The New York Times posted an entry-level job requirement on their website and on LinkedIn. While the hiring process of any establishment seems to be a routine affair, at New York Times, they thought it fit to post very specific requirements for the job – being anti-Hindu and anti-Modi. The job posting was for that of a South Asia Business Correspondent in New Delhi.

In their ad, the specific purpose of the New York Times seems to be to appeal to candidates who can write against the democratically elected government in India and contribute to a tirade that can only be called a “regime change” operation.

At the very outset of the job posting, New York Times interestingly mentions how India is poised to overtake China in terms of its population and how India has “ambitions of winning a greater voice on the world stage”. Just after mentioning India’s ambitions, the ad goes on to mention how “Under Narendra Modi, its charismatic prime minister, India has moved to rival China’s economic and political heft in Asia, a drama playing out along their tense border and within national capitals across the region”.

At the very beginning of their job posting, New York Times seems to grudge that India has ambitions to surpass China’s “economic and political heft” in Asia and is indulged in a “drama” playing out at the tense border with China. The words used, “drama” for example, reveals the very core of what NYT stands for.

Job posting by the New York Times

It is pertinent to note here that China Daily, a propaganda outlet of the Chinese government, has reportedly paid $19 million to American newspapers in advertisement and printing charges in 4 years. As per the documents filed by China Daily with the Justice Department, the Communist party mouthpiece had paid over $6 million to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), $4.6 million to the Washington Post, $2,40,000 to Foreign Policy, $50,000 to the New York Times, $34,600 to The Des Moines Register and $76,000 to CQ-Roll Call. In fact, The Communist party-mouthpiece had also spent $2,65,822 on advertising on Twitter.

In 2018, both the New York Times and the Washington Post ran a sponsored news item titled, “Belt and Road align with African nations.” The same news story was accompanied by another story, critical of the Trump administration. It read, “Tariffs to take a toll on U.S. homebuyers.” The news item emphasised how the rise in US tariffs on China would raise the cost of building homes in the US. China’s attempt to use foreign papers as a tool to further its interests had been pointed out by organisations such as the Freedom House, Hoover Institution, and other pro-democracy groups.

Given New York Times’ visceral hatred for India and especially, its democratically elected leader PM Narendra Modi, it comes as no surprise when the job posting starts with a derisive comparison with China, considering it has regularly done China’s bidding through the paper.

But the problematic job posting does not stop there.

The New York Times job posting makes it amply clear that a visceral hatred for Hindus and Modi is also a pre-requisite to get the job.

Job posting by the New York Times

New York Times goes on to say that the Prime Minister of India is advocating “self sufficient, muscular nationalism centred on the country’s Hindu majority”.

This statement in itself is rather interesting and combines multiple facets. Firstly, the New York Times seems to have a problem with the fact that India wants to be ‘self-sufficient’. One can see this in two ways. New York Times has always been dismissive about the leaps India is taking in the global economy. One recalls the racist cartoon by NYT after India’s ambitious space program and had even apologised for it.

Racist cartoon by The New York Times

Second, one can also see this statement from the lens of China. In February 2021 it was reported how India had managed to decrease its imports from China and increase its exports.

India-China bilateral trade in 2020 had decreased by 5.64% Y-o-Y and stood at $87.65 billion compared to $92.89 billion in 2019, according to Union Commerce Ministry’s recent data on India-China trade in 2020. Notably, Indian imports from China also dropped by 10.87% and stood at $66.78 billion compared to $74.92 billion in 2019. 

The one country that loses with India becoming self-sufficient is China and NYT, which has accepted money from the CCP, seems to take umbrage to the fact.

Further, NYT displays its rampant hate for Hindus by alluding to the fact that PM Modi is consolidating the Hindus of the country and that is against the founding principles of multiculturalism and ‘interfaith’ existence. Coupled with that, NYT claims that India is suppressing free speech, without really giving any evidence of the same.

For these elements to be included in a job description clearly indicates that NYT is looking for journalists with a clear ideological bent and those who would be open to bringing in a strong element of anti-Hindu bias in their coverage.

Interestingly, while they are averse to those who don’t harbour hatred for Hindus and PM Modi, they seem to be completely fine with employing those with a criminal past. In its job opening, NYT wrote, “The New York Times Company will consider qualified applicants, including those with criminal histories, in a manner consistent with the requirements of applicable state and local “Fair Chance” laws“.

Job posting by the New York Times

From calling the beautiful saree a “tool of Hindu Nationalist campaign’ to claiming that the onus to convert is on the non-Muslim in any relationship, the New York Times has displayed a strong bias against Hindus in their coverage.

As a BJP government, which they term as a ‘Hindu nationalist’ government had taken charge in 2014, NYT had upped their hate India quotient by several notches. From fake narratives about ‘Muslims in fear’ to dismissive, hateful articles on India’s culture, traditions and customs, they have done all they could to further their narrative against India.

When one looks at their past reports on India, a distinguished pattern emerges. Issues, data, facts notwithstanding, NYT only loves to malign India. A tax department raid on the promoters of NDTV and NYT comes up with an editorial titled ‘India’s Battered Free Press’. Then in November 2017, NYT hits another level, they run an op-ed on how the Saree, India’s widely popular female attire is in fact, a ‘Tool of Hindu Nationalist Campaign’. Mahindra and Mahindra opens a manufacturing plant in the US and NYT start the same old condescension, totally ignoring the fact that Mahindra has a significant presence in their country already.

Not just India’s present, NYT had attacked India’s past too. They have even criticised India’s freedom struggle. From insulting the victims of the Godhra massacre to enabling the bogey of Hindu terror, NYT has done it all.

With this new job posting, NYT has cemented its place as one of the platforms that are at the forefront of maligning the nation, and clearly, it is looking for more people who can help them in their “cause”.