The New York Times announced that the podcast 'Caliphate' released by its reporter Rukmini Callimachi on ISIS does not meet their standards for legitimacy. The podcast, released in2018, had received wide acclaim and bagged the prestigious Peabody award of the year.
The paper has decided to return the award as they were unable to confirm the veracity of the information in the documentary.
Rukmini Callimachi reports from conflict regions for The New York Times. Her 12-part audio documentary 'Caliphate' focuses on the Islamic State and their terrorist activities. Most of the documentary features Shehroze Chaudhry, a Canadian who claimed to be a former ISIS executioner.
However, in a private investigation by the paper, his claims have been proved to be baseless. Shehroze Chaudhry neither worked with the ISIS and nor has he been to Syria. Canadian authorities have filed a case against Shehroze.
New York Times has reassigned Callimachi. They officially announced that Callimachi will no longer report on topics related to terrorism.
She tweeted, "To our listeners, I apologize for what we missed and what we got wrong."
Rukmini Callimachi along with colleague Andy Mills after receiving Peabody award
The paper has also informed that it shall return the Peabody award received for the podcast. Peabody executive director acknowledged the decision of the paper and have decided to receive the award back given the concerns for 'the standard for quality media'.