I don’t like having to defend the Times, but the rumor is that they rushed this story out before Christopher Rufo could break the news (with what would almost certainly be a right-wing spin).

I doubt the Times would ever admit to publishing a story with the goal of hindering the formation of a right-wing narrative but in this case if they did, it might have been the right call as opposed to waiting for Rufo and publishing a “fact check” of his reporting later.