Ahmadinejad, ‘The New York Times,’ and media lies | The Jerusalem Post

Jpost · 🇺🇸 public United States · May 26, 2026 · 695 words · By MIKE EVANS

National Security Media credibility Antisemitism

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The New York Times reported that former Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was supposedly being positioned by the United States and Israel to lead Iran.

Claims checked 13

Techniques found 5

Topics 3

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center80%

Right20%

5 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

The New York Times reported that former Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was supposedly being positioned by the United States and Israel to lead Iran.

Why it matters

I believe I am the only Zionist leader who has ever sat face-to-face with Ahmadinejad for an extended private meeting.

Common ground

I met with him in his hotel in New York City for more than an hour while he was attending the United Nations General Assembly.

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language, Name Calling / Labeling, Appeal to Fear: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

Follow-up questions

What new context would change how readers understand this National Security story?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that He replied, “Because Zionists poison rats, send them into Iranian crops, and we eat the contaminated food.”?
How does this story connect National Security with Media credibility over the next few days?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-897233

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 5 propaganda techniques in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

warning

Loaded Language 90% confidence

Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.

Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.

Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

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Name Calling / Labeling 85% confidence

Attaching a negative label to a person or group to reject them without evidence.

Why it matters: Recognizing name calling / labeling helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

warning

Appeal to Fear 80% confidence

Building support by instilling anxiety or panic in the audience.

Why it matters: Recognizing appeal to fear helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

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Exaggeration / Hyperbole 80% confidence

Overstating facts or claims to create a stronger emotional response.

Why it matters: Recognizing exaggeration / hyperbole helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

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Ad Hominem 90% confidence

Attacking the person making the argument rather than the argument itself.

Why it matters: Recognizing ad hominem helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 13 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

info Single Source 6

schedule Pending 3

verified Verified By Reference 2

help Insufficient Evidence 1

check_circle Corroborated 1

info

Claim 1: “He replied, “Because Zionists poison rats, send them into Iranian crops, and we eat the contaminated food.””

SINGLE SOURCE

The specific quote regarding Zionists poisoning rats and sending them into Iranian crops is only present in the Jerusalem Post article.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Iran and Israel have not maintained a formal diplomatic relationship with each other since the Islamic Revolution in 1979. Beginning in the mid-1980s, the Iran–Israel proxy conflict has grown to large…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran–Israel_relations

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (né Sabbaghian; born 28 October 1956) is an Iranian politician who served as the sixth president of Iran from 2005 to 2013. Ideologically a principlist and nationalist, he was a me…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahmoud_Ahmadinejad

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was the president of Iran from 3 August 2005 to 3 August 2013, and during that time had repeatedly made contentious speeches and statements against Israel. Ahmadinejad refused to c…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahmoud_Ahmadinejad_and_Israel

+ 3 more evidence sources

help

Claim 2: “The Iranian regime has spent decades spreading lies, funding terrorism, threatening Israel, and chanting “Death to America.””

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No specific evidence was provided in the gathered results to verify the specific phrasing or the totality of these claims in the context of the provided evidence set.

verified

Claim 3: “Ahmadinejad... denied the Holocaust, promoted antisemitic conspiracy theories, and openly called for the destruction of the Jewish state.”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

Wikipedia entries on Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his relations with Israel confirm he made contentious statements against Israel and is widely known for Holocaust denial.

info

Claim 4: “He claimed that during one of his speeches, world leaders sat mesmerized and did not blink for nearly half an hour because of this spiritual presence.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The claim that world leaders did not blink for half an hour due to a spiritual presence is only found in the Jerusalem Post article.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (born Mahmoud Sabbaghian on 28 October 1956) is an Iranian principlist and nationalist politician who served as the sixth president of Iran from 2005 to 2013. He is currently a mem…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahmoud_Ahmadinejad

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — He claimed that during one of his speeches, world leaders sat mesmerized and did not blink for nearly half an hour because of this spiritual presence. Then-Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad pictur…
https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-897233

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Ahmadinejad’s stage presence, by comparison, is borderline soporific. While his plaintive eyebrows and densely compact eyes render him low hanging fruit for political cartoonists, Ahmedinejad’s actual…
https://en.majalla.com/2010/03/article5530470/dr-ahmadinejad…

info

Claim 5: “I even invited Fox News to participate”

SINGLE SOURCE

The claim that the author invited Fox News to participate is only mentioned in the Jerusalem Post article; no other independent source corroborates this specific action.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Controversies of the former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad included criticism after his election victory on June 29, 2005.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Controversies_of_Mahmoud_Ahmad…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Presidency of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad consists of the 9th and 10th governments of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's government began in August 2005 after his election as the 6th pres…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presidency_of_Mahmoud_Ahmadine…

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 6: “The New York Times reported that former Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was supposedly being positioned by the United States and Israel to lead Iran.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple independent web search results confirm that The New York Times reported that the US and Israel explored positioning Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to lead Iran.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The New York Times (NYT) is a newspaper based in Manhattan, New York City. The New York Times covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces and reviews. One of the lo…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_New_York_Times

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The New York Times Best Seller list is widely considered the preeminent list of best-selling books in the United States. The New York Times Book Review has published the list weekly since October 12, …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_New_York_Times_Best_Seller…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The New York Times Company is an American mass media corporation that publishes The New York Times and its associated publications such as The New York Times International Edition and other media prop…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_New_York_Times_Company

+ 3 more evidence sources

verified

Claim 7: “That book is one of the most antisemitic documents ever published, a fraudulent propaganda piece”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

Wikipedia and other authoritative sources explicitly state that 'The Protocols of the Elders of Zion' is an antisemitic hoax and forgery.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Apr 23, 2026 ... This was not true. Journalists, courts of law, and governments have since exposed the Protocols as a fake document that promotes antisemitic ...
https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/protocols-…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — eventually had uncovered it as a fake document that was copied from a ... their anti-Jewish propaganda. These caricatures often show an octopus with a ...
https://antisemitism.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/APT-P…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — The Protocols of the Elders of Zion is an antisemitic hoax and forgery purporting to detail a Jewish plot for global domination.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Protocols_of_the_Elders_of…

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Claim 8: “The writer has written 120 books and is a #1 New York Times best-selling author.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

info

Claim 9: “he told me I should read The Protocols of the Elders of Zion”

SINGLE SOURCE

The claim that Ahmadinejad recommended the author read 'The Protocols of the Elders of Zion' is only mentioned in the Jerusalem Post article.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — 5 days ago · The New York Times reported that former Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was supposedly being positioned by the United States and ...
https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-897233

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Holocaust denial is the negationist and antisemitic claim that Nazi Germany and its collaborators did not commit genocide against European Jews during World ...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holocaust_denial

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Apr 23, 2026 · However, all of them promote antisemitic conspiracy theories about Jews. 2. Adolf Hitler and other top Nazi Party leaders knew that the ...
https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/protocols-…

info

Claim 10: “Ahmadinejad told me that when he spoke before the United Nations, the Mahdi appeared with him in a supernatural green light.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The specific claim about the Mahdi appearing as a 'supernatural green light' during a UN speech is only reported in the Jerusalem Post article. Other sources mention Ahmadinejad's general comments on the Mahdi, but not this specific visual claim.

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+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 11: “I met with him in his hotel in New York City for more than an hour while he was attending the United Nations General Assembly.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The specific detail of the author meeting Ahmadinejad for over an hour in a NYC hotel is only found in the Jerusalem Post article. While other sources confirm Ahmadinejad was in NYC for the UN General Assembly, they do not corroborate this specific meeting with the author.

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+ 3 more evidence sources

schedule

Claim 12: “Churches United with Israel... [is] the largest Christian Zionist network in America, with more than 30 million followers.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 13: “He is the founder of the Friends of Zion Museum in Jerusalem, the Ten Boom Museum in Holland, and Churches United with Israel”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.