The Manhattan apartment building where The New York Times executive editor Joseph Kahn lives was vandalized early Friday in what appeared to be a display of criticism against the paper’s coverage of the war in Gaza.
“Joe Kahn Lies Gaza Dies,” read a message in blank paint written in front of the entrance to the building, located in Greenwich Village, according to photos of the scene.
Other photos showed the building defaced with red paint.
The New York Police Department (NYPD) responded to reports of graffiti at the location shortly before 5 a.m. on Friday, it said in a statement reported by NBC News and the New York Post.
“Upon arrival, officers observed paint on the front steps and doors of the above location,” the NYPD said in the statement.
A spokesperson for the Times confirmed to The Hill that the executive editor was targeted in the incident.
“People are free to disagree with The New York Times’s reporting but vandalism and targeting of individuals and their families crosses a line and we will work with authorities to address it,” Charlie Stadtlander, executive director for media relations and communications at the Times, said in a statement.
The incident came a month after the Times’s office in Manhattan was vandalized by red paint, leaving a message that read, “NYT lies Gaza dies,” NBC News reported.
“As an independent news organization, we receive criticism regularly from those representing entrenched perspectives, hoping to change our reporting,” a spokesperson said at the time.
“While we support the right of groups and individuals to express their point of view, we will not let advocacy groups sway us from covering the conflict fully and fairly.”