The New York Times NATO Blunder Will Live on Infamy

And other Friday news...

Mistakes happen in the fast-paced world of the internet, but you would think that a print edition of the New York Times would be more careful:

Alex Thompson@AlexThomp

There are corrections and there are CORRECTIONS.

7:18 PM · Apr 3, 2026 · 83.9K Views

---

34 Replies · 265 Reposts · 1.9K Likes

I would make a mistake like this. I can’t pretend I wouldn’t. But I don’t work at the New York Times. How many eyeballs were on this thing before it went to print? Who is working in the newsroom? Were they paying attention? Did anything glance at it and think, could that be right? Is the word America really in NATO?

I mean, poor Steven Erlanger. I’m assuming he did not write the headline, not this guy:

So, according to Grok:

Why “North Atlantic” and not “North American”?

• North Atlantic refers to the ocean region that connects the two sides of the alliance: the eastern coast of North America and the western coast of Europe.

• The name emphasizes the transatlantic nature of the partnership — a security link across the North Atlantic Ocean between North America and Europe.

• Calling it “North American” would incorrectly suggest the alliance is centered only on or limited to the North American continent (USA + Canada). In reality, NATO is a transatlantic alliance with most members in Europe.

It is fun to mock the New York Times, always and forever. Beyond that, I remain surprised that a mistake like that made it all the way to print without anyone looking at it and doing a quick Google search: “What does NATO stand for?”

Well, at least now they know.

Iran

In other news, an F-15E went down in Iran, and only one of the crew members has been rescued so far. They are looking for the other crew member. Wishing them godspeed and hopefully found soon.

Happy Good Friday to you, dear readers. I have two major podcasts in the works that I will hopefully drop this weekend, even though it is Easter weekend, and you probably have more fun things planned than listening to a podcast.

But since it’s Easter weekend, here is a video from my favorite roleplaying channel, Early American, cooking an Easter feast.

When we were little, my grandmother, who was Jewish, would still celebrate Christmas and Easter with us. She loved to buy us frilly dresses and patent-leather shoes. It was the one day of the year when we hippie kids who clean up real nice and hunt for Easter eggs. I carried on the tradition with my daughter. The dress, the basket, the eggs.

It wasn’t until I began thinking more about religion, as I edged ever so close to that good night, that I started to think about what Easter really means. Or even what Passover meant to my grandmother. I asked some of my followers on X what they do on Good Friday. I got quite a few wonderful answers. Here are some:

However you spend it or whatever you do, Happy Easter, Happy Passover, and all of the best to you, dear readers.