New York Magazine Columnist Ross Barkan Faces Plagiarism Accusations

Ross Barkan, a columnist for New York Magazine, has been accused of plagiarism, prompting an internal investigation into his work. The allegations surfaced when Drew Harwell, a Washington Post reporter, accused Barkan of using content from his article about Ben Shapiro without proper credit. After Harwell pointed out the similarities, New York Magazine updated its article, crediting the Washington Post. Harwell remarked that he was unsure of exactly what transpired.

Following these accusations, NPR correspondent Bobby Allyn discovered additional instances where Barkan seemingly used similar phrases from The Intercept and Compact Magazine in other reports. Allyn noted that some paragraphs featured long stretches of similar text, with few words altered. In response, New York Magazine announced a review of Barkan’s previous work due to the report.

Barkan, defending himself to Fox News Digital, denied the accusations, describing them as unfounded. He criticized Allyn’s reporting in several posts on his X account, expressing frustration with the situation. Barkan mentioned his extensive output, stating that three stories of the 150 he published last year are under scrutiny, and he maintained that citations were appropriately included.

Drew Harwell, maintaining his stance on the accusation, shared NPR’s report and emphasized that Barkan’s lede closely mirrored his own. Harwell criticized Barkan’s response, suggesting it trivialized the issue. Compact Magazine’s editor, Matthew Schmitz, sided with Harwell, claiming Barkan plagiarized Juan David Rojas’ article within Compact, dismissing Barkan’s defense of linking to the original article as insufficient.

Lindsay Kornick, an associate editor for Fox News Digital, contributed to this report. She invited readers to send tips to her email or follow her on Twitter.