https://archive.is/ is still the de-facto way to read NYT articles...
It's popular on HN for sure, but archive.is only works where the NYT article is archived
Lighter weight, open source, local solutions like Bypass Paywalls Clean work on any NYT article regardless of whether archived
archive.is may be blocked for some internet subscribers in some countries
archive.is webpages are quite large and contain telemetry
For example,
</script></div></div><img style="position:absolute" width="1" height="1" src="https://[USER-IP-ADDRESS].us.TBT3.379913754.pixel.archive.is/x.gif"><script type="text/javascript">Their git pages just refer to bundled extensions.
You can get the sources from the extension, but I doubt that anybody audits them and kind of afraid to install it in my browser with access to all tabs.
Could work for a dedicated browser only for paywalls bypass though.
The onion service's days were numbered after they fired Runa Sandvik. I'm surprised it lasted this long. Looking at the pay and current labor disputes, it seems like the New York Times isn't a good place for a skilled software engineer to work these days.
They'll keep running SecureDrop over an onion service, right...?
Also, you tell a private company information that you are reading the NYT and which articles you read. If the NYT is banned or a signal of suspicion where you live, that doesn't help.
Prerequisites:
- Linux: You may need `sudo` privileges to install Tor and modify system files.
- macOS: Homebrew must be installed (`brew`) to manage Tor.
- A web server must already be running on the specified local port (e.g., 8080).
- Firewall: This function does not configure the firewall. Ensure that:
- Tor’s default port (9050) is allowed.
- Your web server’s port (e.g., 8080) is accessible locally.
#!/usr/bin/env bash
# Function to add a Tor hidden service for a local web server
add_tor_hidden_service() {
local local_port="${1:-8080}" # Default to 8080 if no port is provided
local torrc=""
local tordir=""
local sudo_cmd=""
local os_type=""
# Detect OS and set paths
if [[ "$OSTYPE" == "linux-gnu"* ]]; then
os_type="linux"
torrc="/etc/tor/torrc"
tordir="/var/lib/tor"
sudo_cmd="sudo -n"
elif [[ "$OSTYPE" == "darwin"* ]]; then
os_type="macos"
torrc="$(brew --prefix)/etc/tor/torrc"
tordir="$(brew --prefix)/var/lib/tor"
else
echo "Error: Unsupported OS (Linux or macOS required)" >&2
return 1
fi
# Install Tor if not already installed
if ! command -v tor &>/dev/null; then
echo "Installing Tor..." >&2
if [[ "$os_type" == "linux" ]]; then
if [ -f /etc/debian_version ]; then
$sudo_cmd apt update && $sudo_cmd apt install -y tor
elif [ -f /etc/redhat-release ]; then
$sudo_cmd yum install -y tor || $sudo_cmd dnf install -y tor
else
echo "Error: Only Debian or RedHat-based Linux supported" >&2
return 1
fi
elif [[ "$os_type" == "macos" ]]; then
brew install tor
fi
fi
# Ensure Tor is running
if [[ "$os_type" == "linux" ]]; then
$sudo_cmd systemctl start tor
elif [[ "$os_type" == "macos" ]]; then
brew services start tor
fi
# Configure hidden service
local hidden_service_dir="$tordir/hidden_service_$local_port"
local dir_line="HiddenServiceDir $hidden_service_dir"
local port_line="HiddenServicePort 80 127.0.0.1:$local_port"
if ! grep -qF -- "$dir_line" "$torrc"; then
echo "Configuring Tor hidden service..." >&2
echo "$dir_line" | $sudo_cmd tee -a "$torrc" >/dev/null
echo "$port_line" | $sudo_cmd tee -a "$torrc" >/dev/null
fi
# Restart Tor to apply changes
echo "Restarting Tor..." >&2
if [[ "$os_type" == "linux" ]]; then
$sudo_cmd systemctl restart tor
elif [[ "$os_type" == "macos" ]]; then
brew services restart tor
fi
# Wait for onion address to be generated
local onion_address=""
for attempt in {1..30}; do
if [[ -f "$hidden_service_dir/hostname" ]]; then
onion_address=$($sudo_cmd cat "$hidden_service_dir/hostname")
break
fi
sleep 1
done
if [[ -z "$onion_address" ]]; then
echo "Error: Failed to generate onion address" >&2
return 1
fi
echo "Success! Your web server is now available on the Tor network." >&2
echo "Onion address: $onion_address" >&2
echo "$onion_address"
}
# Example usage
# serve -p 8080
# add_tor_hidden_service 8080
add_tor_hidden_service "$@"
Mining for a nice vanity hostname might be more difficult tho! How would that be done?
https://community.torproject.org/onion-services/advanced/van...
elsewhere,
> Apple Says It Was Ordered to Pull WhatsApp From China App Store
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/18/technology/apple-whatsapp...
“The Agency’s relationship with the Times was by far its most valuable among newspapers, according to CIA officials. From 1950 to 1966, about ten CIA employees were provided Times cover under arrangements approved by the newspaper’s late publisher, Arthur Hays Sulzberger. The cover arrangements were part of a general Times policy—set by Sulzberger—to provide assistance to the CIA whenever possible.”
going back in time like that says nothing about the NY Times of today. In that same time period, the Democrats were the party defending racial segregation, it was your great+ grandparents
That was 75 years ago. If you're going to grind an axe, at least pick one from this century.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_The_New_York_Times_con...
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_The_New_York_Times_con...
The short of that story is this: Something happens. The mainstream media (including the Times) write about it in a way that is unflattering to the Venezuelan government (or whatever enemy du-jour is targetted). Weeks later, when it no longer matters, the Times prints a more accurate version, but still manages to be as uncomplimentary as possible. As the time itself said--two weeks later:
>"CÚCUTA, Colombia — The narrative seemed to fit Venezuela’s authoritarian rule: Security forces, on the order of President Nicolás Maduro, had torched a convoy of humanitarian aid as millions in his country were suffering from illness and hunger." (from https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/10/world/americas/venezuela-...)
Independent South American journalists got it right. The UN tried to set the record straight about this aid convoy, the day after the event. But from the NYT, we got 'the narrative'. And that article that finally said Mr. Maduro didn't do it, came out two weeks later. By then the damage was done.
I've observed that same dynamic with other events as well, such as during the Bolivian coup attempt of 2019. The OAS manufactured a non-existent electoral crisis. No major US paper pushed back on that narrative, which was later shown to be an artifact of how the votes counting process--as the Bolivian government claimed all along, rather than any real crisis.
The Times simply can not be counted upon to give unbiased coverage in other situations either: Syria, Iran, Israel, Palestine, Russia, Ukraine, China, are all strongly biased with the official US narrative.
This is why I cannot subscribe to this paper. It is too often useless as a place where I can go to to get truth.
https://inthesetimes.com/article/the-rise-of-professional-jo...
They had been Iraq hawks, they are Ukraine hawks now.
The NYT most closely matches Chomsky's media analysis of all outlets, and unlike other outlets the NYT hides it well.
https://css.seas.upenn.edu/new-york-times-a-case-study-in-in...
It's certainly not that they come up with outright lies. They have a ton of good people who work there. But there's something rotten higher up in the way they put their finger on the scales.
This is besides the mountains of bullshit they pushed to promote the Iraq war - propaganda they have never, and will never fully admit to.
Pretty useless if those who need it the most can’t read it.
Telling 90% of the truth means telling the least important 90%.
The love of money corrupts all but the noblest of people's hearts.
They did run the story; they withheld it for awhile.
> to protect GW's chances at reelection
Is there evidence of that? I've never heard it and I promise that no Republican thinks the NY Times actively helping them.
Perhaps moreso outside the USA where just a handful of paid articles can sway some topic important for US foreign policy.
I don't see how an ordinary non-technical user could obtain access to a "high quality VPN". I'm not sure a technically skilled user could without a lot of work to setup some sort of chain of anonymous proxies.
Endorsements
2024: Kamala Harris (Democrat)
2020: Joe Biden (Democrat)
2016: Hillary Clinton (Democrat)
2012: Barack Obama (Democrat)
2008: Barack Obama (Democrat)
2004: John Kerry (Democrat)
2000: Al Gore (Democrat)
1996: Bill Clinton (Democrat)
1992: Bill Clinton (Democrat)> In an interview in 2013, [NYT Executive Editor] Keller said that the newspaper had decided not to report the piece after being pressured by the Bush administration
Bush told them not to run the story while he was running for president. As always, the boot was presented and they licked it clean.
This is a really strong claim -- the part about the 'why'. Strong claims generally require strong evidence. I'm perfectly willing to believe they spiked the story for other, more plausible reasons, but come on, their editorial endorsing John Kerry is right there for everyone to read:
> There is no denying that this race is mainly about Mr. Bush's disastrous tenure...When the nation fell into recession, the president remained fixated not on generating jobs but rather on fighting the right wing's war against taxing the wealthy. As a result, money that could have been used to strengthen Social Security evaporated, as did the chance to provide adequate funding for programs the president himself had backed...The Bush White House has always given us the worst aspects of the American right without any of the advantages. We get the radical goals but not the efficient management.
So what exactly is the theory here that they spiked an NSA story to help this guy win re-election?? [0] https://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/17/opinion/john-kerry-for-pr...
Complying in advance with the expectation of attacks on first amendment rights only emboldens autocrats and smooths their path to total control.
https://lithub.com/resist-authoritarianism-by-refusing-to-ob...
Is there any practical advantage to a website in being explicitly reachable as a hidden service on Tor, as opposed to simply not blocking exit node IPs?
Your connection to an onion service is end-to-end encrypted and authenticated, as well, which means no MitM can trick you or sniff your traffic.
[1] https://community.torproject.org/onion-services/overview/
[1.5] http://xmrhfasfg5suueegrnc4gsgyi2tyclcy5oz7f5drnrodmdtob6t2i...
That being said, I only lurk so I don't know if there are any additional restrictions when trying to log in.
Is that the same issue you have or is it something else?
I'd love (genuinely, this is not a snarky comment) to read more about either (learnings, application) or of course both.
Tor doesn't stop people users voluntarily de-anonymising themselves for specific sites. It does stop curious entities on the network from seeing what people do.
These have all been widely been debunked, including by Israeli media. But NYT never retracted their propaganda piece. This gave a free hand for the IDF, with U.S backing, to commit mass murder on an industrial scale in Gaza.
How are they even relevant anymore, and why do people pay to consume literal foreign propaganda? The purpose of the news media is to inform, but these guys are doing the complete opposite.
https://x.com/zei_squirrel/status/1761740292015767736 https://theintercept.com/2024/02/28/new-york-times-anat-schw...
Israeli Jewish citizens criticize the war
People abroad criticize the war
But outside the country, many Jewish people abroad defend it and have this wildly incendiary defense mechanism against the people abroad, as if every critique from anyone is part of a thinly veiled movement to disrupt their right to existence
Why cant the rest of us be assumed to be at parity with Israeli citizen’s critique?
so unproductive