Under Secretary of State Jacob Helberg publicly accused The New York Times of fabricating quotes and ignoring correction requests after the paper’s botched coverage of a major Trump administration economic initiative required multiple corrections.

Times FORCED to Correct Major Errors

Helberg hammered the Times on Sunday over its reporting on the newly announced Pax Silica investor consortium, a trillion-dollar initiative aimed at securing America’s technology supply chains. The paper initially misreported that the consortium committed $1 trillion in direct investment when it actually represents more than $1 trillion in assets under management. More seriously, the Times misquoted Helberg as calling the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz a blessing when he actually described it as a lesson about weaponized supply chains.

The newspaper’s communications team acknowledged issuing multiple corrections but claimed they fixed errors as soon as they became aware of them. Helberg disputed this timeline, posting video evidence of his actual remarks and alleging the paper ignored his correction requests multiple times before finally acting. The corrections fundamentally changed the story’s core facts about both the initiative’s scale and the official’s policy statement.

Trillion-Dollar Security Initiative Launches

The Pax Silica Investor Consortium brings together sovereign wealth funds and institutional investors representing over $1 trillion in combined assets under management, alongside a $250 million U.S. government fund. Helberg described the effort as critical to winning the artificial intelligence race and ensuring that minerals, ports, factories and energy assets powering global semiconductor and technology supply chains stay in trusted hands. The initiative emphasizes partnerships with Gulf allies and treats energy security with the same urgency as mineral processing and logistics infrastructure.

Media Accountability Under Scrutiny

The incident raises questions about editorial standards at major newspapers covering complex policy initiatives. Helberg framed the consortium as answering President Trump’s call to align national security and technology policy amid global supply chain disruptions. He warned that Iran deliberately weaponizes choke points like the Strait of Hormuz to hold the world hostage, demonstrating how key supply routes can become battlefields themselves. The State Department and Times did not immediately provide additional comment when contacted about the fabrication allegations.