The New York Times wants to fuel political debate around what 'the truth is' with its latest TV ad

Julien Rath

The New York Times is looking to send a message about the importance of its journalism with the newspaper's first TV ad in over a decade.

The minimalistic ad shows black-on-white text, each phrase starting with "the truth is," followed by the phrases:

  • "our nation is more divided than ever"

  • "alternative facts are lies"

  • "the media is dishonest"

  • "a woman should dress like a woman"

  • "women's rights are human rights"

  • "we have to protect our borders"

  • "his refugee policy is a backdoor Muslim ban"

  • "we need a full investigation of Russian ties"

  • "leaking classified information is the real scandal"

  • "climate change is a hoax"

The text then speeds up until it is unreadable, before and concluding on "the truth is more important now than ever."

In the background, a mash up of voices give their own definition of the truth, to simulate the conflicting versions of information people have to assimilate today.

Since the US presidential elections last year, the New York Times has been at the heart of a debate surrounding the role of the media with the Trump administration. Trump himself often refers to the newspaper as "the failing New York Times"

In a press release, the newspaper explained the campaign was a result of research it conducted, showing people were unaware of how Times journalism is created.

The ad will first air on television during the 89th edition of the Oscars this week, where actors are likely to get political with their acceptance speeches.

This year's host of the Academy Awards, Jimmy Kimmel, said in an interview with the New York Times: "We don't know what our mood in this country is going to be on Sunday. We seem to be in a very temperamental period. We're having wild mood swings as a nation right now."

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