The New York Times rushed to put out its story on Zohran Mamdani claiming to be “African American” when he applied to Columbia University because the newspaper feared it would be scooped by right-leaning journalist Christopher Rufo,

Controversy erupted over a New York Times article about Zohran Mamdani's college application identifying as Asian and African American, drawing internal and external criticism.

New York City mayoral frontrunner Zohran Mamdani identified as both Asian and African American on his 2009 Columbia University application, the New York Times reported Thursday, prompting anger and ridicule from many as news spread Friday.