Newspaper pulls de Blasio interview after he says the quotes were ‘fabricated’

A British newspaper has removed an article that included quotes attributed to former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio criticizing Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani after de Blasio said the quotes were fabricated.

“The story in the Times of London is entirely false and fabricated,” de Blasio said in posts on X after the paper published the story on Tuesday, one week before Election Day in the New York City mayor’s race.

“I never spoke to that reporter and never said those things. Those quotes aren’t mine” and “don’t reflect my views,” the former mayor wrote.

“It is an absolute violation of journalistic ethics. The truth is I fully support @ZohranKMamdani and believe his vision is both necessary and achievable,” he added.

It’s unclear how the interview was conducted. The Times and News Corp. did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The paper said in a statement to the New York Times that it had apologized to de Blasio and “removed the article immediately after discovering that our reporter had been misled by an individual falsely claiming to be the former New York mayor.” NBC News has not obtained the statement.

The bogus de Blasio comments were quickly spread on social media and in a story by the New York Post, which, like the Times of London, is owned by News Corp. The Post story was later updated with de Blasio’s comments.

In the original article, the person posing as de Blasio criticized Mamdani’s campaign proposals for free buses and universal childcare, saying, “In my view, the math doesn’t hold up under scrutiny, and the political hurdles are substantial.”

The comments were eyebrow-raising because de Blasio has been an outspoken advocate for Mamdani and his proposals — and a longtime bitter rival of Mamdani’s mayoral opponent, Andrew Cuomo, who was New York governor while de Blasio was mayor. The two frequently clashed while in office, and since leaving office.

“They had to go to a Times of London reporter with this scheme because no local New York journalist would ever believe Bill de Blasio would do something to benefit Andrew Cuomo,” Semafor’s Josh Billinson wrote in a post on X.