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NY Times mocked over story claiming Abdul El-Sayed’s Jewish supporters include man named ‘Jack Mehoff’

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English, T. (2026, November 3). NY Times mocked over story claiming Abdul El-Sayed’s Jewish supporters include man named ‘Jack Mehoff’. New York Post. https://nypost.com/2026/11/03/us-news/ny-times-mocked-over-story-claiming-abdul-el-sayeds-jewish-supporters-include-man-named-jack-mehoff/

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New York Post · collected 2026-11-03 · by Thomas English

Quick Summary

The New York Times published a September 17 article about a letter signed by over 500 people identifying as Jewish leaders or voters supporting Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan's election. Among the signatories was someone named "Jack Mehoff," who appears to be fictitious, raising questions about the authenticity of other names on the list. The Times defended its coverage, stating they confirmed the existence of specifically mentioned individuals and highlighted support from notable figures like Eli Savit and Sander Levin. However, critics argue that the inclusion of dubious signatories undermines the credibility of the entire letter.
Written by AI on 2026-11-03, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

The New York Times was mocked for including a name, Jack Mehoff, in a story about Jewish supporters backing Michigan's Democratic gubernatorial candidate Abdul El-Sayed. The article reported that over 500 Jewish leaders or voters had signed a letter supporting El-Sayed. However, eagle-eyed critics noticed Mehoff's inclusion on the alphabetical list of signatories managed by Michigan Jews for Democracy. Washington Free Beacon reporter Jon Levine tweeted that this compromised the story's credibility and questioned why the Times did not address it further.

The mockery stems from the unusual name appearing amidst legitimate endorsements by notable figures such as Democratic Attorney General nominee Eli Savit, and former congressmen Sander and Andy Levin. The list was initially published in a public Google Doc managed by Michigan Jews for Democracy on September 17, the same day the Times reported it.

The university where Mehoff is listed as residing did not immediately respond to inquiries about his identity or involvement. This incident highlights broader debates around media scrutiny and credibility during political campaigns.

Written for “Abdul ElSayeds Jewish Supporters Questioned” on 2026-11-04, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The model judged this article politically coded and scored it -0.35, but all 3 of its quote(s) are attributed speech - words the article quotes from someone, not the article's own narration, so the score is not published.
Written under an earlier scoring contract, which gave a paragraph rather than checkable quotes. Re-analysing this article replaces it.
Leaning score withheld for article 126611: attributed speech only · logged 2026-11-03

Story

📰 Abdul ElSayeds Jewish Supporters Questioned
Politics · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 0% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Centrist Democrats Would Rather Lose the Senate Than Win With El-Sayed Different event
The Intercept
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 3 of 54 claims Outlet record 97/100
“The articles discuss different aspects of Abdul El-Sayed's campaign, with Article A focusing on centrist Democrats pressuring him to denounce a particular ad, and Article B discussing criticism of the New York Times' reporting on Jewish supporters in Michigan.”
Is the Islamophobic Campaign Against El-Sayed Working? Different event
The Bulwark
⚖️ Leans strongly left Hedges 0 of 13 claims
“The articles discuss different aspects of Abdul El-Sayed's campaign and the attacks against him, without describing the same specific incident.”
Rep. Haley Stevens calls out ‘anti-American’ Abdul El-Sayed for ‘obsessive’ hatred of Israel to explain last-minute Mike Rogers endorsement Different event
New York Post
⚖️ Leans right Hedges 0 of 3 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles discuss different aspects of Abdul El-Sayed's campaign and criticisms against him, but do not describe the same specific incident or occurrence.”
Haley Stevens and Abdul El-Sayed clash over Israel ad ahead of planned rally together Different event
NBC News
Hedges 2 of 24 claims Outlet record 78/100
“The articles describe different incidents related to Abdul El-Sayed's campaign but do not report on the same specific occurrence.”
Jewish voters put in spotlight in Michigan Senate race after Stevens and el Sayed feud Different event
Washington Examiner
⚖️ Leans right Hedges 1 of 3 claims Outlet record 69/100
“Article A discusses Rep. Haley Stevens pulling support from Abdul el Sayed due to his stance on an advertisement, while Article B criticizes a New York Times story about El-Sayed's Jewish supporters.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
17
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
0%
0 of 17 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
withheld
no quote in the article backed the model's score
Publisher signals
66/100
New York Post's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-11-03 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

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Who wrote this

Thomas English
9 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 “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,” Levine wrote on X. Some big names included on the list are all too real, with Democratic Michigan Attorney General nominee Eli Savit and the father-and-son duo of former congressmen Sander and Andy Levin among them.
2026-11-03 · assertive framing · NY Times mocked over story claiming Abdul El-Sayed’s Jewish supporters include man named ‘Jack Mehoff’
🔮 If they did need it, I would say keep it going.”
2026-11-03 · assertive framing · Trump says US will end $4B in annual aid to Israel:’They don’t need it’
🔮 But it can be anywhere from late Tuesday night until over a week after Election Day before the winner becomes clear, depending on how close the House and Senate races will be.
2026-11-03 · assertive framing · An hour-by-hour guide to watching the 2026 midterms —  and when we’ll know who controls Congress
🔮 Had the case moved forward, it would have been the highest-level prosecution of federal officials to come out of the laptop saga.
2026-11-02 · assertive framing · DC federal judge tosses case against FBI officials accused of lying about Hunter Biden laptop
🔮 President Trump revealed he’s willing to issue sweeping preemptive pardons to everyone who worked in his administration if Democrats follow through on threats to prosecute them.
2026-11-02 · assertive framing · Trump reveals he’ll use preemptive pardons to protect staff, allies if Dems take Congress
🔮 Retiring Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) said Sunday that potential Republican losses in Tuesday’s midterms would trigger an internal party debate over the MAGA movement — one he said the GOP needs.
2026-11-02 · assertive framing · Outgoing Republican rep suggests Trump should not be leader of GOP if he loses big in midterms
🔮 The money was allegedly part of a $17.6 million wire Mildon sent to Texas Armament & Technology, a defense software company, in May 2025.
2026-11-02 · assertive framing · Trump rips ex-lawyer Alina Habba’s ‘obnoxious’ $50M deal with pardoned Venezuelan banker’s family
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Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 9 articles by Thomas English →

Topics

Democratic Jewish Jews for Democracy Michigan Times

Subjects

El-Sayed PERSON · 4× Michigan GPE · 4× Jewish NORP · 3× Times ORG · 3× Democratic NORP · 2× Jack Mehoff PERSON · 2× Jews for Democracy ORG · 2× Mike Rogers PERSON · 2× Jews NORP · 1× the Mitten State GPE · 1×

Narrative

“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,” Levine wrote on X. Some big names included on the list are all too real, with Democratic Michigan Attorney General nominee Eli Savit and the father-and-son duo of former congressmen Sander and Andy Levin among them.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-11-03
🔮 “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,” Levine wrote on X. Some big names included on the list are all too real, with Democratic Michigan Attorney General nominee Eli Savit and the father-and-son duo of former congressmen Sander and Andy Levin among them.
2026-11-03 · New York Post
NY Times mocked over story claiming Abdul El-Sayed’s Jewish supporters include man named ‘Jack Mehoff’ · assertive framing

Claims (17 extracted, 0 hedged)

The Times initially reported Sept. 17 on the letter, which it said was signed by “more than 500 people who identify as Jewish leaders or voters” in the Mitten State and insisted that El-Sayed is “clearly the better choice for Jews.” asserted
Sayed → report → Jews
The story included a link to a public Google Doc managed by a group calling itself Michigan Jews for Democracy. asserted
story → include → Democracy
Mehoff appears at No. 403 on the alphabetical list, which was also promoted by the El-Sayed campaign the same day the Times published its story. asserted
Times → appear → story
Records reviewed by The Post lists someone named Jack Mehoff as living on campus at Michigan State University in East Lansing. asserted
Records → review → Lansing
The university did not immediately respond to requests for comment. asserted
university → respond → comment
Eagle-eyed Washington Free Beacon reporter Jon Levine spotted the eyebrow-raising moniker on the morning of Election Day. asserted
Levine → spot → Day
“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,” Levine wrote on X. Some big names included on the list are all too real, with Democratic Michigan Attorney General nominee Eli Savit and the father-and-son duo of former congressmen Sander and Andy Levin among them. asserted
names → publish → them
However, hundreds of signers gave only a first name and last initial, suggesting minimal effort to vet them. asserted
hundreds → give → them
The clergy who signed the letter have also had their credentials called into question. asserted
credentials → sign → question
One, Rabbi Chava Bahle, made history in 2014 as the first rabbi to lead a Unitarian Universalist church. asserted
One → make → church
Another, Rabbi Alana Alpert, leads a Reconstructionist congregation whose adherents insist Judaism is defined by culture and social values rather than traditions or rituals such as keeping kosher. asserted
Judaism → lead → traditions
Michigan Jews Against Extremism, who organized a rival letter backing Republican Mike Rogers, said it confirmed its signatories’ existence by email and checks to confirm Michigan residency. asserted
it → organize → residency
It had 561 names listed as of Tuesday. asserted
names → have → Tuesday
“This story from September is one of several looking at Dr. El-Sayed’s relationship with Jewish and Democratic voters,” Times spokesman Charlie Stadtlander said. asserted
Stadtlander → look → voters
“We found this letter newsworthy because of a number of the notable individuals who signed on and we confirmed that the people specifically mentioned in the story did in fact add their name. asserted
people → find → name
The story also highlights a letter from Jewish Democrats and Independents who came out in support of Mike Rogers. asserted
who → highlight → Rogers
Neither Michigan Jews for Democracy nor the El-Sayed campaign immediately responded to The Post’s requests for comment. asserted
Jews → respond → comment
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