The New York Times took heat Tuesday for an analysis piece claiming Senate Republicans were using “appeals to racism,” nods to conservative “fringes,” and references to the QAnon movement during Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson’s confirmation hearings. 

In the piece, the authors criticized Republican arguments that Jackson was soft on crime and claimed concerns the judge had previously been lenient on child sex offenders “appeared to be exploiting echoes of QAnon,” the far-right conspiracy theory movement.

Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson speaks during her confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee Monday, March 21, 2022, on Capitol Hill in Washington.
( AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

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“After all of the entreaties from top Republicans to show respect at Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s confirmation hearings, Senator Ted Cruz on Tuesday afternoon chose to grill the first Black woman nominated for the Supreme Court on her views on critical race theory and insinuate that she was soft on child sexual abuse,” the piece read. 

It added that the message from Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, was “clear”: “A Black woman vying for a lifetime appointment on the highest court in the land would … coddle criminals, go easy on pedophiles and subject white people to the view that they were, by nature, oppressors.”

“The attack … contained barely coded appeals to racism and clear nods to the fringes of the conservative world,” it read, before quoting two liberal professors equating the criticism to “dog whistles.” 

The piece went on to claim Republicans contending Jackson had been lenient on child sex offenders “spoke to a fixation of those wedded to the QAnon conspiracy theory” and the movement had a “cultlike reach” among members of the Republican base.

FILE PHOTO: U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) speaks during a television interview in response to U.S. President Joe Biden’s first address to a joint session of the U.S. Congress, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S., April 28, 2021. REUTERS/Erin Scott/File Photo
(Reuters)

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Critics took to social media to blast The Times’ claims, with some calling the reporting “outrageous” and “insane,” and others suggesting the liberal paper wasn’t a legitimate news outlet. 

“Hey guys – just want to register that this is some outrageous reporting. You can be concerned about light sentences for child porn convicts without being QAnon. And you can question someone on sentencing and criminal Justice without it being racist,” wrote Republican communications strategist Matt Whitlock. 

He then rejected The Times’ dismissal of Republicans’ crime concerns, noting that rising crime and the impact of “soft on crime” policies is “a top 10 issue for voters.”

Fox News contributor Mollie Hemingway argued the Times was engaging in “destructive propaganda.”

“No offense but how many decades will the NYT have to engage in the most extreme and destructive propaganda before Republicans stop treating them like a legitimate outlet? At some point, if you keep taking it, it’s hard to take the complaints seriously. TREAT THEM AS WHAT THEY ARE,” she wrote.

Trump supporters displaying QAnon posters appeared at President Donald J. Trumps Make America Great Again rally Tuesday, July 31, 2018 at the Florida State Fair Grounds in Tampa Florida. (Photo by Thomas O’Neill/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
(Photo by Thomas O’Neill/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

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Other critics suggested The Times’ claims were “so predictable.” 

“There the Times goes again,” wrote journalist Benjamin Weingarten.

Wednesday marks the third day of confirmation hearings for Jackson, who, if confirmed, will be the first Black woman to sit on the Supreme Court. Her confirmation appears likely with Democrats holding a slim majority in the Senate and none of their members signaling opposition.

Fox News’ Adam Shaw contributed to this report.