Why Did The ‘New York Times’ Delete A Story About Norwegian Pedophile Network? [Opinion]

In late November, Norwegian police made public a pedophile ring in which they arrested 20 men, including a police officer. Officials stated that the Norwegian pedophile ring included at least 51 people, including politicians and businessmen. The New York Times had published a blurb about the arrests via the Associated Press, however, the story has since been removed for unknown reasons.

The question that savvy internet denizens are asking is: Why? Why did the New York Times remove a brief, yet factual story about a pedophile network?

Skeptics of mainstream media believe the answer may lie in the Times‘ CEO and president since 2012, Mark Thompson. Thompson, who is currently embroiled in a discrimination lawsuit brought about by two employees of the New York Times, was director-general of the BBC from 2004 to 2012.

In 2011, after British television personality Jimmy Savile died at the age of 84, two journalists for the BBC program Newsnight began investigating sexual assault and pedophilia claims against Savile going back decades. The journalists completed the report, which was set to air in December, 2011, two months after Savile’s death.

According The Telegraph, however, the program was scrapped, and instead two tribute programs were shown instead.

At the time, Thompson’s involvement in killing the story was minimal, with most of the blame put on Helen Boaden, the BBC’s news chief. Since the story about the Norwegian pedophile network being scrubbed from the New York Times‘ site, however, new questions have arisen about Thompson’s role in removing it and in killing the 2011 Savile report.

In October, 2012, Thompson denied having any role in burying, or having deep knowledge of the Savile report, and claimed to have only learned about the story at a company holiday party in December, according to an interview in the New York Times.

Turkish news Daily Sabah published a story on the Norwegian pedophile ring, discussing Deputy Police Chief Gunnar Floystad’s statement on the investigation known as “Dark Room.” Floystad revealed that the perpetrators were “highly educated,” with lawyers, teachers, and politicians, who used encryption to skirt the law.

Hilde Reikras, the head of Operation Dark Room spoke at a press conference, during which she described the pedophiles and their network.

“We have the clear perception that like-minded individuals met with each other in the so-called dark net, where they could talk with one another and cultivate their interest in children in peace … The material shows the abuse of children of all ages, including infants.”

One abuser had even live-streamed an assault on one of his own children.

Since the story of the Norwegian pedophile ring, the U.S. media has been inexplicably silent on the issue, with only conservative-leaning Fox News posting a short, four-paragraph Associated Press report on it. The AP story includes almost no details about the circumstances of the pedophile network, which leaves even more questions about why the New York Times removed it.

Incidentally, both the Washington Post and ABC News also deleted their Associated Press reports on the Norwegian pedophile network, which has caused even more speculation as to why several legacy news organizations removed it. ABC News had the story until December, after which it simply disappeared.

However, Norwegian news outlets gave much more detailed information on the arrests and the horrifying facts of the case. Tidens Krav reported that Western Police District officials had seized at least 150 terabytes of data, including photographs, movies, and chats. The data revealed photos and videos of toddlers being penetrated, children tied up, children being forced to have sex with animals and with other children.

Originally, the Norwegian investigation began as a result of a tip from the FBI here in the United States. This fact has caused speculation that the pedophile network involves more than just a few Norwegian perpetrators and may implicate high-level U.S. officials.

With pedophilia accusations surrounding James Alefantis’ Comet Pizza — and subsequently Pizzagate — it begs the question as to why a seemingly innocuous story about the Norwegian pedophile network was pulled from the internet by more than one major news outlet at around the same time. And why legacy news organizations like the New York Times are working furiously to cast doubt on any mention of pedophile rings involving high-level officials.

[Featured Image by UK Broadcasters Pool/AP Images]