Columnist for New York Times stayed mum on ties to think tank Paul Farhi, The Washington Post March 4, 2021 FacebookTwitterEmail New York Times columnist David Brooks speaks at Peachtree Presbyterian Church in Atlanta in 2019.Photo for The Washington Post by Michael A. Schwarz The tenets of journalism hold that writers are not supposed to have a vested interest in the topics they cover - but that if they do, they need to disclose it to the public. David Brooks appears to have fallen short of those principles. The veteran New York Times opinion columnist did not mention to his readers that he has had a side gig writing for a project funded by Facebook and other donors. Brooks has written favorably about the project, and about Facebook, without disclosing his personal financial connection.