A bunch of people are positing that NYT wanted to take down Scott Alexander because of some culture war reasons, which is just what they want you to think! They were really more afraid that he would hit them where it hurts: https://web.archive.org/web/20200617172710/https://slatestarcodex.com/2020/06/04/problems-with-paywalls/
If New York Times black helicopters disappear me in the next week, you'll know why.