I listened to this when it was first released and thought it was great. However, I’m so disappointed the Times hasn’t removed it given that it was proven to be fabricated.

Why did she bring garbage bags to the front line ? Could the Taliban also use free garbage bags? Why did this fail editorial scrutiny and fact checking?

The protagonist in this podcast is a fake. This podcast should be removed and NYT needs to fess up to multiple fake news it has been spewing to contribute to systemic Islamophobia. Brazen fake news.

The core of this project was completely debunked. A total waste of time to listen to, unless you want to listen to a fictional story.

It’s unbelievable that this podcast is still available knowing it is fake/Hoax. The Times has accepted it failed again in reporting and posting this podcast but again “fear sells”.

A very clear and non-biased report, exceptionally investigated and produced. The one character that is being investigated by Canada had also fooled US CIA operatives and the Times announce this in every episode. It did not spoil the entire story.

The reporters who went to the frontlines to cover this story is so incredibly brave. Her details of everything made me feel as if I was there. A must listen!

The New York Times retracted the core of this podcast after an internal review found it had failed to heed red flags indicating that the story’s source wasn’t trustworthy.

This is nearly all manufactured by the lead character. It’s a shame that the NYTimes didn’t have the infrastructure to verify the claims of the story. Better luck next time. Great piece of fiction, though. Not sure the Pulitzer committee is aware of this.

I was quickly pulled into the story and immersed into the scenes she described. She brought a human aspect to it.

so obviously they state its a fabrication but honestly i could care less, if anything it got even more interesting when they started the investigation lol. you dont really hear this kinda process anywhere i can think of and weirdly enough i found that cool to hear

Don't expect honesty here

Don’t take this seriously folks. Do your own research outside the MSM!

If you google “nyt caliphate podcast scandal” or read the one-star reviews since September 2020, you will learn why this series became a major embarrassment for NYT. A 13th episode has been added in response to the scandal, but leads one to ask why the series has not been taken down.

This is based on a false story from an unreliable person and shameful oversight by NYT’s. No one really ensured the veracity of the claims the interviewed source made. Very disappointing…..

I was so disappointed to learn the central figure in this story is likely an unreliable source. It soils the entire podcast, even parts independent from his narrative. They should remove this, and redo it right, because this is a topic worth learning about. Leaving it as is could spread misinformation and further damages the reputations of those involved.

The news is thrilling when you just make s$@! up. The Times does it again!

That they never issued a formal retraction of this false story

Really fake Debunked Lies Deception

And still promoted heavily? Is someone hoping that the controversy will go away if you ignore it?

Tell a true story and report true facts.

Hey guys, at least they warned us about all those WMD’s in Iraq? We’re lucky to have the responsible journalists at NYT to guide us through the post-truth era.

I don’t understand why this is still available. Please take it down.

Yes, once again a propogation of deceit and lies coming from the New York Times. This is not surprising in the least and why they have such little credibility from so many. Good riddance.

The whole story turned out to be based on lies. This podcast is mostly fiction.. like much of the NYT’s fake journalism.

Canadaland has demonstrated this is based on an absurd degree of lying, shameful that it remains up

This podcast has been fully exposed as dangerous lies and terrible reporting. Why is it still posted???

Overall, I loved this podcast. I learned of it AFTER the hoax was uncovered. In a lot of ways, I found the fact that the main interviewee lied speaks to an interesting aspect of his psychopathology. The only thing that I absolutely cringed about was when the interviewer had the victim speak over the phone to her captor. That was incredibly dangerous and possibly traumatic. I could not believe that risk being taken for the sake of a good story. In the end, the interviewer claims the victim found the experience empowering. That can be the case, absolutely. But typically there needs to be periods of support and stability before that can be helpful. I wonder if the victim was conflicted due to unconscious coercion from the interviewer. Either way, that could have been incredibly harmful. A story should never trump the well being of this victim.

“Caliphate made its debut in spring of 2018. It explored ISIS and the lure and threat of terrorism, driven by host Rukmini Callimachi, a much-celebrated Times reporter. It focused greatly on a young-Canadian-Pakistani, Shehroze Chaudhry, who claimed to have been an executioner for ISIS in Syria. The Caliphate team made him the main character in the series, despite clear signs he was lying. This fall, Canadian authorities filed federal charges saying Chaudhry had lied about being an ISIS executioner. The ensuing front-page treatment from Mazzetti and his colleagues found no evidence Chaudhry killed anyone, joined ISIS or even ever traveled to Syria. In other words, the narrative propelling Caliphate collapsed.”

Why is this podcast still being promoted on iTunes? This entire series was fabricated. It is not journalism. The hosts and producers should lose their jobs.

Filled with amazing info, that was sourced well. It’s not full of false info, so don’t you dare question it hahaha

I’m going to give this 3 stars because it’s still a good story. Not only that but I want to be forgiving because, although I do believe most mainstream media is trash and is playing up its bias to an insane degree; I don’t believe this is THAT. Like you said, it’s hard to ever verify exactly what potential former isis fighters are saying. That being said, I hope the hosts of this podcast can escape the woke mob/cancel culture clowns relatively unscathed (although I know the whole Pulitzer Prize nomination was ripped away from you). I don’t want you guys to have your careers permanently damaged over a mistake that you guys tried to make right. God bless

This podcast is 100% fabricated. Michael Barbaro of The Daily led the charge in covering it all up. He convinced veteran reporters to abandon journalistic integrity. The NYT is complicit, which is not uncommon in false reporting.

I have watched over the past few years how the journalistic integrity of the NYT has gone strait into the sewers of NYC. Recently, you put out a scathing hit piece about frontline COVID docs using IVERMECTIN like the rest of the world is doing, yet you publish a complete podcast about someone who was supposedly an Isis member but we learn now he never even went to Syria??? Between that and making me pay for your recipes, you’re going on the BLOCKED list! Bye, Felicia!!

The ISIS fighter never went to Syria! Plus the Daily host MB is playing hard ball with other journalist. This is tragic and unfortunately leads to the notion that the NYTs is indeed #fakenews.

I was so engrossed in this story and completely trusted NYT’s journalistic integrity. Unfortunately, this podcast is built around lies and has been widely discredited. WHY is this podcast available on Apple Podcasts still? NYT should step up and remove it, to prevent more people from falling into the same trap. To keep it up and available takes this story from “misinformation” to “disinformation.”

This entire series is based on a fabrication. As usual, the New York Times didn’t check their facts (just like they failed to do with the 1619 project). Sadly, you can no longer read something in the New York Times and assume it is based upon facts/research. NYT was one of the best news sources, DECADES AGO. Now the entire organization is about as trustworthy as Fox News. NYT is no longer an unbiased, fact-based organization. Any person seeking objective reporting should avoid NYT.

Confirmed liar in this podcast. In the era of fake news, why would NYT continue to damage their brand?

Another break down of ethics at the NYT.

I really enjoyed the story telling ability of the journalist problem is it was all false. The NYT really pushed this knowing it was false definition of fake news. The recent revisiting episode is painful to listen to. Comes off as insincere and almost like they are saying “we are so great and even great institutions make mistakes BUT we are still great.”

It’s confirmed fake.

I thought this podcast was incredible when it was originally released. I spoke at length about it with friends. It informed how I understood ISIS fundamentally. The revelation of failures in reporting and editor oversight at the NYT are deeply disappointing, but not the lowest blow for me. I listened to the recent update, “An Examination of ‘Caliphate’,” and was struck by how Dean Baquet, while acknowledging these failures, seems not to have gathered any particular lessons from the entire debacle. At one point in addressing how the NYT can regain reader trust and prevent anything like Caliphate from happening again, he says, “The answer is always more reporting.” How can more flawed reporting correct flawed reporting? Mr. Baquet instead should examine why the public editor position at the NYT was recently eliminated, a role which was intended to prevent exactly this type of scandal. He should address why, or even if, the same editorial standards for print are not applied to audio content. This morning, reporting by NPR revealed that Michael Barbaro, host of The Daily podcast and interviewer of Mr. Baquet in the Caliphate update, has been pressuring journalists behind the scenes to reduce their own criticism of Caliphate. Andy Mills, who was a creator of Caliphate, continues to be involved with The Daily, despite his complicity. I have lost faith in the NYT and their reporting because of this podcast. Maybe in the least, we as listeners can use this podcast to reflect on how to engage more critically with audio journalism. I know I will.

THIS PODCAST HAS BEEN RETRACTED BY NYT!!! The source is made up, they have retracted everything in it, it’s honestly wild this is still available on the podcast app

If you love the NYT, then you’ll love listening to the NYT loving the NYT.

Fake journalism

And no.

This is a great podcast. It’s crazy to see the Times intensive walk back about the falsehoods in the “Abu Huzaifa” story while the entire time they express doubts but also blow holes in his story through intensive research and assistance from other fellow journalist professionals, government officials, the guys parents, and even ISIS itself. I think the Times is making a mistake and the awards for this work being retracted is also a mistake. Rukmini did her due diligence to dig through mess and try to find the truth of a story they admittedly in the podcast (dedicate an entire episode to) aren’t able to fully vet.

I have truly lost trust in The NY Times after this podcast and the resulting podcast The Daily posted. See NPR’s reporting for further details. Extremely disappointing that such a compelling story did not meet standards of the basic truth. Complete loss of trust.

Why is this discredited, dishonest garbage still available??? Shame on you NYT

Even the post-mortem analysis (Ep. 13) is specious. Really disappointing interview from Barbaro, which is largely uncritical and fails to articulate the implications of the story being entirely discredited (even at the time of publication). The NYT buried this episode, too, instead of e.g. airing it in the Daily. The lack of contrition should be embarrassing.