The New York Times had a bad week, but as it turns out they've had similar problems for well over a hundred years.
Earlier this week the Times published this headline, and the focus was clearly so much on taking a swipe at Trump that the "layers of editors and fact-checkers" missed something:
Does the @nytimes know what NATO stands for? pic.twitter.com/wvD1WxPOnN
— Sasha Issenberg (@sissenberg) April 3, 2026
"Atlantic" - "American." Po-TAY-to, po-TAH-to.
But journalistic offerings that backfire have been a Times specialty for a LONG time.
An example has been spotted:
"Man won't fly for a million years" – NYT 1903 pic.twitter.com/hCyXEqCEfm
— Aaron Ng (@localghost) April 3, 2026
That might be the worst aging media take of all time, and the bar is very high.
Your reminder that the mainstream press has been terrible for a very, very long time. https://t.co/JfeHQich3P
— Bonchie (@bonchieredstate) April 4, 2026
Every now and then we need more reminders.
Wtffff the first flight with humans happened 9 days after that loooool pic.twitter.com/3xJzlGMsdF
— javi (@javitoshi) April 3, 2026
"Man won't fly for a million years"
— Con Concordius (@CMCanidae) April 4, 2026
Literally 9 days later: https://t.co/1agtRpnaOb pic.twitter.com/nzETcrwOvd
@nytimes you all been wrong on stories for over 100 years! Congratulations. https://t.co/g8OXnAOOAZ
— Justin Gillette (@gilletterunning) April 4, 2026
Depending on the actual publication date it was anywhere from nine days to several weeks before the Wright Brothers' flight.
The date in the screenshot is wrong, but this is a very real and very funny editorial, headlined “FLYING MACHINES WHICH DO NOT FLY,” and ran 69 days before the Wright Brothers flight https://t.co/mAb4GKPOUS pic.twitter.com/tRd2IrrvI9
— Josh Billinson (@jbillinson) April 4, 2026
And now, more than 120 years later:
Another NY Times story that has aged wonderfully.
*****