Yesterday afternoon, the New York Times’ Peter Baker and Maggie Haberman reported that Donald Trump would be signing an executive order meant to target anti-Semitism on college campuses:

President Trump plans to sign an executive order on Wednesday that would protect Judaism under civil rights law and could empower the Education Department to withhold money from institutions that tolerate anti-Israel movements https://t.co/SzTtC5mMN6 — The New York Times (@nytimes) December 10, 2019

Trump to sign executive order targeting anti-Semitism on college campuses. @maggieNYT https://t.co/BXYVXjJ6pJ — Peter Baker (@peterbakernyt) December 10, 2019

According to Baker and Haberman, the order would effectively label Jews as a race or nationality.

President Trump will sign an executive order defining Judaism as a nationality, not just a religion, thus bolstering the Education Department's efforts to stamp out "Boycott Israel" movements on college campuses https://t.co/0avw7eseMc — NYT Politics (@nytpolitics) December 10, 2019

Which, as you all know, effectively makes Donald Trump Adolf Hitler.

Declaring that civil rights laws and other minority-protection rules apply to Jews, JUST LIKE HITLER — Seth Mandel (@SethAMandel) December 11, 2019

America 2019: where a bipartisan bill, translated into an executive order based on Obama-era nondiscrimination guidance, is greeted as Hitlerian. Welcome to idiocracy. — Seth Mandel (@SethAMandel) December 11, 2019

The freakout was swift and severe:

Which itself is an anti-semitic act. — Paul Crowell (@supapally) December 11, 2019

If being Jewish is my nationality, does that mean I am no longer an America citizen? — Stav (@stavieb) December 11, 2019

An anti-Semite defining Judaism. What could go wrong? — Collin Kelley (@CollinKelley) December 11, 2019

Seth Mandel collected some extra-special meltdowns:

Holy moly the takes. The Soviets invented Jewish nationhood, apparently. pic.twitter.com/X7r0KL9GUI — Seth Mandel (@SethAMandel) December 11, 2019

sweet jesus what is happening to ppl's brains pic.twitter.com/mtPZkCY5N2 — Seth Mandel (@SethAMandel) December 11, 2019

oh good she has further thoughts and hoo boy did that escalation quickly pic.twitter.com/0CuOOtlYOm — Seth Mandel (@SethAMandel) December 11, 2019

it doesn't stop. it never stops pic.twitter.com/FyW0Rw7qCp — Seth Mandel (@SethAMandel) December 11, 2019

We live in the upside down pic.twitter.com/i2ZX4e6feG — Seth Mandel (@SethAMandel) December 11, 2019

There are plenty more where that came from, but you get the idea. The thing is, the freakout was all based on a poorly sourced and reported piece.

Absolutely incredible. This is the New York Times. If a reporter had filed this to me I would've had an aneurysm. No sourcing, no examples, no explanations, all straw. This is what you write if you don't want readers to understand the issue pic.twitter.com/rqOu8tDChb — Seth Mandel (@SethAMandel) December 10, 2019

Emphasis on “poorly reported.” Because — and we know this will come as a huge shock to you — the New York Times white-hot scoop thoroughly mischaracterized the executive order.

I've obtained a draft of the executive order on antisemitism that President Trump will sign this afternoon at the White House — take a look https://t.co/WjHP7OWY9M — Jacob Kornbluh (@jacobkornbluh) December 11, 2019

Even Vox’s Zack Beauchamp (who had flipped out earlier) and Ian Millhiser were calling the New York Times out on their BS:

I have read that so-called "Jews are a nationality" executive order, which you can read here.https://t.co/rstKoXTVs0 The New York Times completely blew this story. It does not say anything like what they claimed. More soon… — Ian Millhiser (@imillhiser) December 11, 2019

When you’ve lost Ian Millhiser, you know you’ve screwed up. Bigly.

So the text of the actual executive order on anti-Semitism does not seem to be nearly as problematic as was reported. They could have changed it, but it does not appear to define Jews as a nationality. Here's the relevant section: https://t.co/ZMxWUr5ClZ pic.twitter.com/uAzZDKsIuM — (((Yair Rosenberg))) (@Yair_Rosenberg) December 11, 2019

Unless the administration changed the executive order on anti-Semitism at the last minute, it seems like we had a national Twitter freakout yesterday over bad reporting. Not great. https://t.co/AsQ2UFGw3d — (((Yair Rosenberg))) (@Yair_Rosenberg) December 11, 2019

Head of the Anti-Defamation League seems to confirm that the executive order on anti-Semitism did not redefine Judaism as a nationality, which means it was not changed at the last minute, just was misreported yesterday: https://t.co/HWbzYVzbVt — (((Yair Rosenberg))) (@Yair_Rosenberg) December 11, 2019

Read @mjs_DC on the Trump EO on anti-semitism, which is far less sweeping and alarming than first reported. It’s not clear that it changes much at all, and is rooted in similar interpretations of anti-discrimination law used by prior administrations. https://t.co/70dmy9Imfp — Adam Serwer? (@AdamSerwer) December 11, 2019

My reading of the executive order on Judaism is that Trump wants to expand Title VI to include anti-Semitism. I think Congress rather than the executive needs to do these things (I made this complaint of Obama, too), but… the NYT framing of "defines Judaism as a race" is wrong — Robby Soave (@robbysoave) December 11, 2019

Huh, so it's not about Israel after all, you unbelievable idiots. Apologies I've run out of patience but the collective reaction yesterday was one for the ages. Please delete all your accounts and fire your laptops into the sun, you brainless talking rubbertrees. https://t.co/y7C15BBU3L — Seth Mandel (@SethAMandel) December 11, 2019

The New York Times got what they wanted: A massive Twitter freakout over Donald Trump. Journalistic integrity would dictate that they quit pulling this crap, but as they are apparently completely bereft of journalistic integrity, we can look forward to lots more like this.

Maybe now that the Executive Order story turned out to be bad reporting, people can spend one ounce of that wasted outrage on the fact that three Jews were murdered in an anti-Semitic attack in New Jersey — Batya Ungar-Sargon (@bungarsargon) December 11, 2019

And pass up an opportunity to turn Donald Trump into the second coming of Adolf Hitler? Please.

The meltdown over the EO was one of the absolute dumbest things I’ve ever seen on this website — Armin Rosen (@ArminRosen) December 11, 2019

Mission accomplished, New York Times!

yeah NYT really NYT'd this one https://t.co/7AUBB3PevR — Seth Mandel (@SethAMandel) December 11, 2019

I’ve been thinking about this a lot over the past couple hours: just how much damage did the NYT do with its worst-possible initial reporting? The Times does not take its responsibility seriously, and everyone suffers for it. https://t.co/Zsc6z7cWvN — Seth Mandel (@SethAMandel) December 11, 2019