One of the women who told The New York Times about Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner’s “unsettling” behavior is now criticizing the news outlet for watering down her story.
The Times dropped a report on Thursday detailing allegations from several women Platner dated. They claimed the candidate engaged in misogynistic and physically intimidating behavior. Lyndsey Fifield, a Virginia-based Republican operative who previously dated the candidate, detailed an incident in which he allegedly twisted her arm behind her back and locked her in a room.
However, she said the report did not cover the enormity of what Platner allegedly did to her in their relationship. In a lengthy post on X, she went into more detail about his alleged abusive tendencies.
“Anyone who has ever extracted themselves from a relationship with a narcissistic abuser knows it isn’t clean or easy,” Fifield wrote. “I cringe remembering how many times I tried to play the ‘cool girl’ or fawn in response to what was clearly abusive, coercively controlling behavior by Graham.”
I also know how dangerous it is to become the target of a narcissist — so even long after our relationship ended I continued to be upbeat any time he reached out, though I would also immediately shut down any attempts on his part to initiate flirting or romanticizing of the past.
Yes, the day I saw him announce he was running I wanted to make sure people knew he had a Nazi tattoo — and I was terrified he would find out it was me.
But of course he knew it was me.
What’s ironic is I absolutely never would have shared my story if he hadn’t been relentlessly attacking my character behind the scenes for months once the tattoo story came out.
I tried to signal that I wasn’t the source and stayed completely silent about him on social media even as most of my friends posted regularly about what a bad person he is.
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Fifield explained that in early April, the New York Times contacted her and she told them she was not interested in discussing her story. The reporter told her there are other women coming forward about Platner’s conduct. “ They said but wait—there are other women. Women terrified to tell their stories, too, and you need to band together. WE will help you. We will protect you. Men can’t keep getting away with this,” she wrote.
After seeing former Rep. Eric Swalwell’s downfall, she reversed course. She told them her story and even “let them take pictures of my diary pages.” She sent screenshots of her message exchanges with Platner.
“I explained very clearly that, like many women abused by their partners, I had not told anyone about his violence at the time—I had covered for and defended it. I accepted his earnest apologies. They said that’s fine because the diary entries and my on the record story was enough,” Fifield wrote.
The reporters connected her to other victims and she told them they were “doing the right thing” even though they had misgivings. Fifield also realized that Platner was in a relationship with one of the other victims while she was dating him.
She further explained that she felt guilty about having remained silent for so long, but at some point, she decided she couldn’t continue to keep this under wraps. “I couldn’t stay silent as he continued to lie and lie and lie. I want my daughters to boldly speak out if they’re ever abused as I was,” she wrote.
Anyone who has ever extracted themselves from a relationship with a narcissistic abuser knows it isn’t clean or easy.
— Lyndsey Fifield (@lyndseyfifield) June 5, 2026
I cringe remembering how many times I tried to play the “cool girl” or fawn in response to what was clearly abusive, coercively controlling behavior by Graham.…
In another post, Fifield said she “bucked all advice” from her friends about speaking with The Times “and decided to fully trust the Times journalists.”
As they left my home they asked that I not talk to any other outlets and I insisted then and repeatedly over the following weeks that I would keep my word and only share this story with them.
But then the weeks dragged on. They kept coming back to us saying the editors needed more. I needed to go on the record (okay). We need more screenshots (okay). I met every bench mark they set, eager to provide more sources or evidence as needed.
After the story went up I began to ask them … wait, where are the stories from the other women? Where are their accusations of sexual assault? Why am I the focus? Why are there 11 paragraphs dedicated to detailing my work history (more than has been published about Graham’s by far)?
Why does it say “nobody could corroborate” when I offered them sources that COULD corroborate?
Why did they include an out of context quote from a friend joking “do not call Graham” after I called off my wedding? (Because she knew I would never).
The editors said these details were “too much” to include, according to Fifield. But the outlet also did not include the fact that she told her friends about her ordeal with Platner “long before he was running for office.”
Fifield further suggests that the Times sat on the story and stalled publication because they wanted a way to turn it into “a gift to the Platner campaign” by leaving out the more salacious details.
I bucked all advice from my friends (and resisted my conservative bias) and decided to fully trust the Times journalists.
— Lyndsey Fifield (@lyndseyfifield) June 5, 2026
As they left my home they asked that I not talk to any other outlets and I insisted then and repeatedly over the following weeks that I would keep my word…
This is no surprise. The New York Times did publish the piece knowing it would damage Platner—but it seems clear they didn’t go nearly as far as they would if Platner were a Republican. Even in exposing the candidate, they still sought to protect him.
This is what happens when a legacy media outlet claiming to be objective observers shows its true colors. The media’s purpose is to speak truth to power and expose corruption in government. This was a clear opportunity to do so, but they chose partisan politics over accountability. Good thing we live in an age where people don’t have to rely on the media to tell their stories, otherwise, we might never have known the full truth.
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