NY Times accidentally published pre-written wrong verdict in Trump’s attempted assassin’s trial

The man who attempted to assassinate President Donald Trump in Florida was found guilty, but the New York Times appears to have published the wrong prewrite.

On Tuesday, wannabe assassin Ryan Routh was found guilty of all charges related to his attack on Trump, but if you get your news from the NYT, you may not have known that at first. A screenshot appears to show the outlet had accidentally published the incorrect prewrite of the verdict, which declared that Routh had been found not guilty of the crimes.

Look:

Just searched Ryan Routh’s name @nytimes and got this result in the first head and subhead. I get it y’all have some kind of prewrite, but why is it preloaded? Routh was just convicted on all charges. Let’s make sure that’s the print edition tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/JfVi05ZrDk

— Mary Katharine Ham (@mkhammer) September 23, 2025

“Just searched Ryan Routh’s name [at the New York Times] and got this result in the first head and subhead. I get it y’all have some kind of prewrite, but why is it preloaded? Routh was just convicted on all charges. Let’s make sure that’s the print edition tomorrow,” Fox News contributor Mary Katharine Ham wrote in an X post.

It’s not uncommon for news outlets to have basic outlines written for upcoming news stories such as highly anticipated trial verdicts, obituaries, and election outcomes. These articles usually contain the bare bones facts of the stories, and specific details are added later as the event occurs. This practice allows the outlets to get news out at nearly the same time it breaks, but it doesn’t come without risks.

The piece was quickly updated to the headline, “Man Found Guilty of Trying to Assassinate Trump in Florida,” and the lede reading “A federal jury convicted Ryan Routh, an itinerant building contractor, of attempting to assassinate a major presidential candidate last September.”

“Ahead of some newsworthy events like courtroom verdicts, The Times and many other news organizations make preparations for different possible outcomes. An earlier version of this article was published inadvertently with a pre-written version of a not guilty verdict; it was replaced with the correct version less than a minute later, and a correction was added to explain what happened. As the current version makes clear, Mr. Routh was found guilty on all five counts against him,” the NYT shared in a statement with Fox News Digital.

X users reacted to the error:

Wishful thinking at the editor’s desk.

— pipermcq (@pipermcq) September 24, 2025

In what world does even a pre-writer think he would be not-guilty?

— Sarah Burris (@SarahBurris) September 23, 2025

“Writing the lede on the way to the ballpark.”

— Bruce Thompson51 (@BruceThompson51) September 23, 2025

Layers and layers of fact checkers.

— HerodotusPaine (@HerodotusPaine) September 23, 2025

What a despicable media outlet. They wanted this to be the verdict. They hate MAGA. Shameful as well as deliberate in my eyes

— Dr. Dolezal @the_fitnessprof (@baducladr) September 24, 2025

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