Muslim civil rights group notes this is the second time this year that the Murdoch-owned outlet has had to correct a biased article.
(WASHINGTON, DC – 11/11/2025) – The Council on American-Islamic Relations, the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today reminded The New York Post and other anti-Muslim media outlets that there is a “fine line between bigotry and defamation” after the Murdoch-owned outlet was forced to correct an article falsely claiming that Washington, D.C., based CAIR had funded the Zohran Mamdani mayoral campaign.
In an article published the day before the 2025 mayoral election, The New York Post falsely claimed that CAIR was one of the “single biggest backers” of the Mamdani campaign, among other blatantly false statements. As a 501c3 nonprofit organization, CAIR does not endorse, donate to, or otherwise support any political campaigns.
After CAIR sent a demand letter to The New York Post noting that the allegation of campaign funding was false and completely unsupported by the content of the article, the Post changed to story to remove the false claim and fix several other misstatements, including misidentification of a CAIR official and a false claim that CAIR had not provided a comment for the story.
This marks the second time this year that The New York Post has had to correct a false statement in an article about CAIR. In a prior article, the Post reported and later removed the false claim that CAIR had provided “financial” support to its client Mahmoud Khalil and “anti-Israel agitators” on college campuses. CAIR represented Khalil and other students in a lawsuit against Columbia University but never provided financial support for campus protests.
In a statement, CAIR said:
“Although The New York Post has a long history of spreading anti-Muslim bigotry, the paper turbocharged those efforts during the run-up to the 2025 mayoral election.
“Rupert Murdoch and The New York Post have every right to embrace anti-Muslim hate, but they do not have the right to blatantly and clumsily lie about American Muslim activists, politicians or institutions.
“The fact that The New York Post has been forced to correct so many mistakes in this biased article, which was meant to fan the flames of bigotry just before the mayoral election, is the latest sign that it is not a serious media outlet.
“We warn The New York Post and other anti-Muslim outlets to remember that there is a fine line between bigotry and defamation, and that they should expect to be held accountable if they cross it.”
The original article also misidentified a former CAIR official’s role, incorrectly claimed that CAIR had not provided a comment on the story, and failed to note that CAIR had rebutted bigoted and misleading attacks that anti-Muslim elected officials Tom Cotton and Elise Stefanik had levelled against the organization, which the article repeated at length. The updated article addresses those factual issues, but still contains numerous biased, opinionated smears and does not contain a note acknowledging the changes, as mainstream media outlets usually include.
CAIR is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and America’s largest Muslim civil-rights organization. Its mission is to enhance understanding of Islam, protect civil rights, promote justice, and empower American Muslims. As a 501(c)3 nonprofit, CAIR does not endorse or oppose candidates for office and makes no claims as to the favorability of one candidate being elected over another.
CAIR’s mission is to protect civil rights, enhance understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
La misión de CAIR es proteger las libertades civiles, mejorar la comprensión del Islam, promover la justicia, y empoderar a los musulmanes en los Estados Unidos.
Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn | TikTok | Website | YouTube
Do you like reading CAIR press releases and taking part in our action alerts? You can help contribute to CAIR’s work of defending civil rights and empowering American Muslims across the country by making a one-time contribution or becoming a monthly donor. Supporters like you make CAIR’s advocacy work possible and defeating Islamophobia an achievable goal. Click here to donate to CAIR.
You are receiving this email due to your interest selection from commercial media databases. If you would like to join CAIR’s media list, please sign up here: https://action.cair.com/a/newsletters — For more information, email: [email protected], CC [email protected]
END
CONTACT: CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, [email protected]; CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, [email protected]; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, [email protected]; CAIR National Communications Manager Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, [email protected]