>>> The "newspaper of record" has been caught changing the record. On 15 February 2003, the New York Times Website ran an article on the worldwide peace protests held that day. Toward the end, it mentioned that the NY Police Department had snipers on the rooftops, undercover officers in the crowd, bomb-sniffing dogs, and equipment for detecting and neutralizing hazardous materials. All of this information was deleted in the final version of the article.

Those wonderful troublemakers at Unknown News alerted me to the first version of the article, which mentioned snipers and undercover cops. Then artist Tom Moody emailed to let me know about a version published late that day, which added info about the bomb-sniffing dogs and detection equipment. He had clipped the final two paragraphs from this version. This version was apparently published late on Saturday, 15 February (datelined for the next day). (Yet more confirmation of the existence of this version comes from the Victorian Peace Network, which posted the whole thing on their Website.)

But on the next day, that article was replaced with a third, final version (the only version now on the NYT's site). The new version was mostly the same as the first two. The second part of the title had been changed, and a few new paragraphs had been added. But most important is what was removed—all reference to snipers, bomb-sniffing dogs, etc. Below, you'll see the three versions of the final paragraphs side by side (emphases added). To see the full text of the various versions, go to this page at Unknown News.

From New York to Melbourne, Cries for Peace

by Robert D. McFadden
New York Times
Saturday, February 15, 2003

The police did not disclose details of their security operation, but it was mounted during one of the most intense national security alerts since the terrorist attacks of 9/11, and it included thousands of uniformed officers in the streets, sharp-shooters on rooftops and plainclothes officers in the crowds.

From New York to Melbourne, Protest Against War on Iraq

by Robert D. McFadden
New York Times
Sunday, February 16, 2003

The police did not disclose details of their security operation, but did say that 5,000 officers were involved. It was mounted during one of the most intense national security alerts since the attacks of 9/11. In addition to the thousands of uniformed officers in the streets, it included sharp-shooters on rooftops, mounted officers, radiation detectors and other hazardous-materials detection and decontamination equipment, bomb-sniffing dogs and plainclothes officers mingling in the crowds.

It appeared that the police had not anticipated such a large crowd. At 1:45 p.m., Chief Joseph J. Esposito, the highest-ranking uniformed officer, ordered the department's highest mobilization, a rare measure that brought 1,000 officers from precincts and other commands around town. The alert was last used in November 2001, when American Airlines Flight 587 crashed in the Rockaways.

From New York to Melbourne, Protest Against War on Iraq

by Robert D. McFadden
New York Times
Sunday, February 16, 2003

The police did not disclose details of their security operation, but did say that 5,000 officers were involved. It appeared that the police had not anticipated such a large crowd. At 1:45 p.m., Chief Joseph J. Esposito, the highest-ranking uniformed officer, ordered the department's highest mobilization, a rare measure that brought 1,000 officers from precincts and other commands around town. The alert was last used in November 2001, when American Airlines Flight 587 crashed in the Rockaways.

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