The New York Instances printed a narrative pushing the concept that assist for President Donald Trump from a younger Black man was natural, however the paper hid a key reality from its readers.
On Thursday evening, I learn the story headlined “What 11 Black Voters Think About Trump’s Actions in His First Month.” A type of voters is Javon Evans, whom the Instances merely recognized as an “artificial intelligence start-up worker in Houston” who “grew up in a politically diverse family on Long Island and moved to Texas after college in 2021.”
The unique story from The New York Instances.
“I think the first month has been excellent,” Evans advised the outlet, which talked about that he supported Trump’s actions to roll again pro-diversity efforts.
Javon Evans’ X profile
The quote set off crimson flags for me. I’ve lined politics and media points for a very long time, and the best way by which Evans was positioned—completely reflecting what conservatives and the mainstream media insist is an correct portrayal of how Black folks relate to conservatism—didn’t sit proper with me.
I googled Evans’ identify and “Trump,” not anticipating to seek out something. In spite of everything, there are Black people who find themselves Republicans and voted for Trump. They exist.
However most of them aren’t partisan operatives. And Javon Evans is. On the very first web page of Google outcomes for Evans is his X profile. His profile identifies him because the communications director for the Houston Younger Republicans.
Picture from a Fb publish by Houston Younger Republicans
Just a few Google outcomes beneath that led to the Fb web page for the Houston Younger Republicans, the place a fast have a look at their photographs reveals a publish displaying their 2025 government board. Marked very clearly is Javon Evans because the group’s communications director.
I posted my findings to my Bluesky account on Thursday simply after 10 PM ET. I didn’t have affirmation that the Instances’ Javon Evans and the Houston Younger Republicans’ Javon Evans had been the identical individual, however the Instances has a well-documented historical past of passing off Republican operatives as simply common residents.
I checked the Instances story on Friday morning, solely to seek out that it had been altered. The story now notes that Evans “is the communications director for Houston Young Republicans.”
Apart from a dateline studying “Updated Feb. 21, 2025, 10:37 a.m. ET,” the story doesn’t point out what was modified. There isn’t a correction discover. The Instances’ stealth edit considerably alters the affect of the part on Evans and calls into query the article’s total credibility.
However the Instances hasn’t bothered to tell its readers about any of this.
The altered story from The New York Instances.
Tales like this distort essential points affecting the lives of not simply Black Individuals but additionally all Individuals. Trump is making an attempt to roll again lots of the civil rights beneficial properties that folks died to safe for future generations. He’s attacking variety in training, the armed forces, the civil service, and a number of different aspects of American life.
Presenting the views of a partisan operative—notably one who’s Black—with out context helps to present Trump a permission slip to additional erode these beneficial properties.
Trump is an unrepentant racist who has mentioned Black immigrants come from “shithole” nations. He has praised police brutality and known as for the killing of harmless younger Black males. Black voters largely don’t assist Trump. Within the 2024 election, he acquired solely 13% of the Black vote and did even worse amongst Black girls, with solely 7% voting for him, in line with exit polls.
Editor’s be aware: After the publication of this story, the Instances added a correction acknowledging that the authentic article was edited so as to add background data on the partisan supply they quoted.
Marketing campaign Motion
