Minority Impact Coalition, an Australian advocacy group, asked the Royal Commission into Antisemitism and Social Cohesion, a government-appointed, independent panel, to subpoena the New York Times and one of its reporters as part of its probe into the reporter’s decision to leak messages from a private Jewish WhatsApp group to an unnamed person, unrelated to the reporter’s job.
A Times spokeswoman said in 2024 that “it has been brought to our attention that a New York Times reporter inappropriately shared information with the subject of a story to assist the individual in a private matter, a clear violation of our ethics.”
“This was done without the knowledge or approval of the Times,” the spokeswoman said. She added that the company took “appropriate action” against Natasha Frost.
In its submission to the royal commission, Minority Impact urged the panel to subpoena the Times to identify the person with whom Frost shared a downloaded copy of the chat from the WhatsApp group “Jewish Academics and Creatives.”
The group said that members of the chat were subjected to death threats, harassment, vandalism and professional repercussions, and two years later, many victims continue to experience backlash from the leak.
Michael Gencher, executive director of StandWithUs Australia and a member of the WhatsApp group, told JNS that he learned about the leak only after reading about it in the news and it changed the way he sees large online community forums.
“I almost immediately realized how many WhatsApp groups I am in, and how many that I have no idea actually who else is in,” he said. “It was almost an immediate 180 in terms of my approach and my consideration of the groups that I belong to.”
“It would be extraordinary if the royal commission did not seek information from the New York Times and Natasha Frost” about the identity of the recipient, Minority Impact stated.
“Where credible evidence exists that persons or organizations possess information identifying individuals potentially involved in serious antisemitic offending, the exercise of compulsory powers is consistent with established royal commission practice,” it added.
Gencher said that the subpoena request underscores the importance of accountability.
“They may be in the United States. They may be unknown to us. They may be outside jurisdiction, but there must be a way of holding them responsible,” he told JNS.
“It doesn’t matter how old we are or how smart we are or how well positioned we might think we are,” he added. “When it comes to online, the level of safety is not great, and we should be extremely careful.”
