'NYT' Response to Prior Crossword Swastika Accusations Resurfaces

The New York Times is facing further scrutiny amid a backlash prompted by social media accounts claiming the crossword it published last Sunday resembles a Nazi swastika, with the newspaper now having to defend another of its puzzles over the same claims.

Images of the most recent crossword were shared on Twitter, and a host of detractors also pointed out that the puzzle was published on the eve of the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah.

Pundit and commentator Meghan McCain has added her name to the list of critics.

Amid the online speculation, Jordan Cohen, executive director of communications at the NYT, told Newsweek on Monday that the only intentional aspect of the crossword's appearance was its symmetry.

"This is a common crossword design: Many open grids in crosswords have a similar spiral pattern because of the rules around rotational symmetry and black squares," Cohen said in a statement.

As discussion around the crossword continues on social media, Twitter users pointed out that the verified New York Times Games account had posted a tweet in October 2017 that insisted there was nothing untoward in another of its puzzles.

"Yes, hi. It's NOT a swastika," read the tweet. "Honest to God. No one sits down to make a crossword puzzle and says, 'Hey! You know what would look cool?'"

Hollywood Medium star Tyler Henry quoted the tweet on Monday night, writing: "This tweet is from 2017. How do you mess up that badly TWICE? Don't piss on my leg and tell me it's raining."

Author Joseph Steinberg commented: "The first time, in 2017, the @NyTimes [received] the benefit of the doubt. The second time, on the day after its editorial board published a piece criticizing the world's only Jewish state, and on #Hanukkah eve, it's hard to be so naive."

Comedian Jen Kirkman also weighed in on the five-year-old post, tweeting: How many times has the @nytimes done this?"

In the ensuing conversation about the resurfaced tweet, a number of Twitter users posted links to a Tomatohater blog post from 2014, in which Drew Engelson questioned whether another crossword puzzle from the NYT was in the shape of a swastika.

"Last week, on December 1st, I opened up The Mini which was authored by crossword prodigy Joel Fagliano and immediately found myself thinking, 'Hmm, this puzzle is shaped like a swastika!'" Engelson wrote.

"Now, I'm no conspiracy theorist," he went on. "I don't believe that I'm being wronged at every turn. To the contrary, I generally see the humor and ridiculousness in daily life. So I concluded, 'Well, it kinda looks like a pinwheel too. Likely just a coincidence.'"

Engelson's suspicions were aroused when the first answer that he gave was "JEW," prompting him to write: "What a minute! Did that really just happen? Given the context of a puzzle arguably shaped like a swastika and the answer 'JEW' in a prime spot... my blood started to curdle."

After writing to the editor via the NYT'swebsite in-app feedback link, he shared a response from the publication that read: "I can assure you that Mr. Fagliano meant no harm in the pattern of squares for today's Mini.

"As I'm sure you probably know, there are only so many possible arrangements for squares in a 5x5 puzzle. I had to look really hard at it in order to see what you refer to as a swastika, and personally, I mainly see a lot of white space.

"Also, the entry JEW had no connection to the pattern of squares in the puzzle. The clue itself is a line from Adam Sandler's 'The Chanukkah Song.'"

Sharing his reaction to the response he received, Engelson stated that he did "believe that Joel Fagliano had no malintent with this puzzle. Yet I am still left feeling unsatisfied. The NY Times response basically accused me of dreaming up the swastika shape.

"To prove that it wasn't just me, I presented the puzzle to a bunch of other individuals. Each answered within seconds and provided only two distinct answers: 'swastika' and 'Nazi symbol'. No one mentioned 'pinwheel' and no one even said, 'I don't know.'

"I suppose I fault the NY Times Crossword editorial staff for not catching this," he concluded. "And even once it got out, there has been no acknowledgement that the puzzle could have been interpreted as insensitive."

Regarding its most recent puzzle, the Times' Caitlin Lovinger wrote about the crossword in her column on Sunday, saying: "I love the geometry in this puzzle—so many stair steps!—and feel that it contributes to a certain evenness in the solve.

"Most of the entries that first caught my eye were of medium length—five or six letters long, bulky enough to give me lots of letters to use in chipping away at each corner—and the whole grid came together all at once," she said.

Ryan McCarty, the puzzle's constructor, said in the NYT that he was "thrilled" to have his first Sunday crossword in the publication.

"This grid features one of my favorite open middles that I've made as it pulls from a variety of subject areas. I had originally tried to make it work in a 15x15 grid but then decided to expand the grid out to a Sunday-size puzzle with a fun whirlpool shape. Hope you enjoy!"