How did The New York Times check the advertisement before publishing it?

Although The New York Times maintained a department specifically tasked with checking the accuracy of submitted advertisements, the staff member who reviewed the advertisement in question signed off on it without questioning the material.1

The employee justified this decision by noting that the advertisement was endorsed by a number of well-known individuals whose reputations the staffer had no reason to question. Consequently, the advertisement was published despite containing factual errors that later became the focal point of the landmark New York Times Co. v. Sullivan case.12