JFK airport project misrepresented as not allowing bids from white, male

CLAIM: Businesses owned by white men are not allowed to bid on a $2.3 billion grant funding redevelopment of New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport.

AP’S ASSESSMENT: False. The claim distorts an announcement made last month that $2.3 billion in contracts were awarded to minority- and women-owned businesses, commonly referred to as MWBEs, for the airport redevelopment as of February 2024. The $19 billion project has made it a priority to involve certified MWBEs. However, the bidding has been open to all, with non-MWBEs awarded more than $5 billion in contracts as of February 2024, a spokesperson for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which runs JFK, said.

THE FACTS: Social media users are falsely claiming that certain businesses will be excluded from JFK’s multibillion dollar redevelopment based on the race and gender of their owners.