Two Northwestern University students are facing criminal charges after publishing a false front page in the school’s student newspaper accusing the university of being “complicit in the genocide of Palestinians.”
The students were charged under a little-known Illinois law that criminalizes placing “unauthorized advertisements in a newspaper or periodical.” As a result, the two face up to a year in prison and a $2,500 fine each.
On October 25, 2023, two unnamed students placed a fake front page on approximately 300 copies of the school newspaper, The Northwest Daily. The students created a parody newspaper page, called The Northwest Daily, with a front-page headline that read “Northwest Complicity in Palestinian Genocide.” Other stories had headlines like “Swipes Out of Meal” and “NU Wants to Air-Drop Photo.” The page also contained a fake advertisement for Birthright Israel, a program that provides free trips to Israel for young Jewish adults, reading “One man’s house is another man’s old house!”
Students a @NorthwesternU place these fake newspaper covers in classrooms, dorms and other buildings on campus. The caption under the photo repeats the smear that Israel bombed a hospital in Gaza. Will we get a comment from University President Michael Schill this time? pic.twitter.com/cLR7ElDYPz
— Zach Kessel (@zach_kessel) October 25, 2023
The incident sparked criticism among pro-Israel supporters. Fox News contributor Guy Benson called the fake page “literal and direct terrorist propaganda… Includes an ad suggesting the real student newspaper is sponsored by you-know-who.”
Second TO THE InterceptStudent publishing house, The Northwest DailyThe parent company of, announced that it had “committed law enforcement to investigate and find those responsible”.
As a result, the students were eventually charged with “theft of advertising services.” The crime arises from a law which, according to THE Interceptit exists only in California and Illinois and was originally approved to prevent the Ku Klux Klan from placing flyers inside newspapers.
“I’ve never seen anyone charged with advertising theft,” said an attorney who previously oversaw Evanston-area public defenders. THE Intercept.
The couple’s accusations have sparked controversy, including from the staff of The Northwest Daily. The editorial staff of the student newspaper he wrote Monday: “Although the students’ alleged actions may violate Illinois law, we believe the SPC’s decision to involve the criminal justice system during this investigation was unnecessary and harmful.”
The board of directors of Students Publishing Company has pushed back against claims that the allegations sparked by their choice to involve law enforcement are inappropriate.
“This act of vandalism interfered with the rights of student journalists to publish and distribute their work,” they said he wrote in a statement on Monday. “Just as you can’t take over a television station’s airwaves or a publication’s website, you can’t disrupt distribution of a student newspaper.”