''Caliphate'' is a narrative podcast published by ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' in 2018 which covers the

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant An Islamic state is a State (polity), state that has a form of government based on sharia, Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical Polity, polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a t ...

(ISIL). It was hosted by reporter

Rukmini Callimachi Rukmini Maria Callimachi (born Sichitiu on 25 June 1973) is a Romanian-born American journalist. She currently works for ''The New York Times''. Background Callimachi gained her name "Rukmini" through her family's closeness to the Indian theos ...

. The central figure of the podcast was Pakistani-Canadian Shehroze Chaudhry (using the name "Abu Huzaifa al-Kanadi"), who described in detail atrocities he claimed to have committed in Syria for ISIL. Concerns were raised that his story was a fabrication or a grave misrepresentation, and in 2020 Chaudhry was arrested by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police's O Division Integrated National Security Enforcement Team (OINSET) for lying about participating in terrorist activities. Following his arrest, ''The New York Times'' admitted to a severe editorial failing and retracted Chaudry's story.

Synopsis

A large portion of the podcast is dedicated to following the story of a Canadian ex-ISIL fighter using the ''nom de guerre''

Abu Huzaifa al-Kanadi Shehroze Chaudhry (born 1994/1995) is a Canadian who gained international attention under the pseudonym Abu Huzaifa al-Kanadi ("Abu Huzaifa the Canadian") as the subject of Caliphate (podcast), ''Caliphate'', a podcast hosted by Rukmini Callimachi ...

. Callimachi found Huzaifa through

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

, and conducted an in-person interview in a hotel in Canada. The show details Huzaifa's radicalization and career as a member of ISIL's police, including an admission of carrying out executions on behalf of ISIL.

Initial reception

The podcast received a

Peabody Award The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Peabody, honor the most powerful, enlightening, and invigorating stories in television, radio, and ...

and the

Overseas Press Club of America The Overseas Press Club of America (OPC) was founded in 1939 in New York City by a group of foreign correspondents. The wire service reporter Carol Weld was a founding member, as was the war correspondent Peggy Hull. The club seeks to maintain a ...

award in 2019. Both would later be returned by the ''Times'' after doubts around Chaudry's story came to light. Callimachi was a finalist for the 2019

Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting This Pulitzer Prize has been awarded since 1942 for a distinguished example of reporting on international affairs, including United Nations correspondence. In its first six years (1942–1947), it was called the Pulitzer Prize for Telegraphic R ...

for her reporting on ISIL, which included the podcast and " The ISIS Files" database. On December 22, 2020, the Pulitzer Prizes board indicated it would rescind the finalist status at the request of the ''Times''. In 2018, ''Caliphate'' won

International Documentary Association International Documentary Association (IDA), founded in 1982, is a non-profit 501(c)(3) that promotes nonfiction filmmakers, and is dedicated to increasing public awareness for the documentary genre. Their major program areas are: Advocacy, Filmm ...

's (IDA) documentary awards for the year's best audio documentary. The audio documentary category was awarded for the best in stand-alone and episodic series nonfiction storytelling in radio & podcast.

Abdul Huzaifa al-Kanadi controversy

On May 11, 2018, Conservative members of the

Parliament of Canada The Parliament of Canada (french: Parlement du Canada) is the federal legislature of Canada, seated at Parliament Hill in Ottawa, and is composed of three parts: the King, the Senate, and the House of Commons. By constitutional convention, the ...

demanded that Public Safety minister

Ralph Goodale Ralph Edward Goodale (born October 5, 1949) is a Canadian diplomat and retired politician who has served as the Canadian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom since April 19, 2021. Goodale was first elected in 1974 as the member of Parliame ...

take action against Huzaifa. Shortly after, Huzaifa told the CBC that he had lied about carrying out executions for ISIL. Huzaifa was arrested on September 25, 2020, after an investigation found that he had no ties to ISIL. He was charged with "hoax-terrorist activity", which is primarily used to prosecute fake

bomb threat A bomb threat or bomb scare is a threat, usually verbal or written, to detonate an explosive or incendiary device to cause property damage, death, injuries, and/or incite fear, whether or not such a device actually exists. History Bomb threat ...

s. Following his arrest, ''The New York Times'' revealed Huzaifa's real name (Shehroze Chaudhry) and announced that it would make a "fresh examination" of why he was featured on the podcast. On December 18, editors appended a note to the episode transcripts stating that "the episodes of 'Caliphate' that presented Mr. Chaudhry's claims did not meet our standards for accuracy", in addition to releasing another episode on the podcast's feed discussing the hoax. ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' noted that the editors note "fell short of a full retraction".

Michael Barbaro Michael Barbaro (born October 12, 1979) is an American journalist and host of ''The New York Times'' news podcast, '' The Daily'', one of the most popular podcasts in the United States. Early life Barbaro grew up in North Haven, Connecticut. H ...

, host of the ''Timess '' The Daily'', tweeted that "several episodes of the series do not touch on Chaudhry and their accuracy is not in question"; of the podcast's ten episodes, seven were centered around Chaudhry. Callimachi was reassigned following the incident, and the Overseas Press Club rescinded the award they had given for the podcast. On December 18, 2020, the ''Times'' also announced that, in view of the results of its investigation into the matter, it would return the

which had been won by the podcast.

References

External links

* {{The New York Times History podcasts 2018 podcast debuts 2018 podcast endings The New York Times Journalistic scandals 2018 hoaxes Hoaxes in the United States Journalistic hoaxes Works about the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant 2020 controversies Documentary podcasts