As a follow-up to my post yesterday concerning the New York Times and its “Ron Paul and his supporters are Nazis” article…I’d like to present just a few more facts about the incident:

1. The New York Times left the article up for an entire 24-hour period without approving a single comment (all of which were left unseen due to a “moderation” queue).
2. Shortly after they finally decided to start moderating and showing comments, the article was pulled from the front page of the “blog” as well as the list of “recent articles by Virginia Heffernan.”  It’s almost as if the article never existed!  Well…if you ignore the damage it had already done, and the fact that it can still be accessed through its permanent link.
3. I’ve personally skimmed through more than 200 comments, and with only one exception, they all  seemed intent on disputing the lies presented by the article.  Heffernan’s smear essentially created over 27,000 words in response that her readers will probably never have access to!

So, what we really have here is an established and (for some reason) trusted media outlet that prints complete lies for all to read…then removes the article once they’ve finally decided to allow intelligent voices to respond?

I understand that Virginia Heffernan is nothing more than a fluff artist who is better suited weighing the merits of “LonelyGirl15″ against something called “Smosh,” but this seems like a real low even for her.  If the article was decided to be so inaccurate that it warranted removal from public view…where is the retraction?

I’m going to be sending an e-mail requesting this correction.  Any similar requests or respectful demands can be sent to public@nytimes.com.