Interesting, thanks for posting. I was inclined to read it as NYT "Doing a job on collective mentality", per their usual role, to actually influence people, molding mindsets by repeated message, hence the reason they do the things they see as more important by way of series, rather than just one-off articles. This is why I am also skeptical of many series we see in Medium, they are often done with the same intention, to promote misunderstandings. I am even guilty of doing one or two myself for the same reasin reason, to influence. We have to do it to compete with others doing it. But my aim has nothing to do with selling stories or a political ideology, gaining popularity. For me it is all about propagating understanding.
Looks like we might have similar intentions there :)