LONDON: The New York Times’ former Baghdad bureau chief Jane Arraf refuted claims that her departure from the paper had to do with reported allegations she misused work funds. She also exclusively revealed to Arab News that her former employer cleared her from such accusations.
“I was informed by the New York Times in April that an investigation into allegations of financial impropriety found the accusations baseless,” Arraf told Arab News in an email.
“I believe instead that I was targeted and fired by my employer for advocating for the rights of Iraqi staff and journalists working with the Times and for raising safety and legal issues.”
Palestinian-Canadian journalist Jane Arraf was put on leave by the US newspaper after the latter began investigating the bureau chief for allegedly mishandling funds, according to news start-up Semafor.
Sources at Semafor claimed that Arraf decided to compensate non-US bureau staff ranging from freelancers to fixers above the $150-a-day pay limit which prompted disputes by some of the paper’s staff in the Middle East.
Arraf, a veteran of the CNN Iraq bureau who joined NYT in 2020, challenged the policy, disputing that her spending within the bureau was improper.
The Semafor reported that NYT and Arraf are currently negotiating the terms of her departure and that a successor has not been nominated yet.
The New York Times did not respond to request for comment from Arab News.
*Clarification: This article and its original headline have been amended to include comments from Jane Arraf.
